New Delhi, April 9, 2025 – A team of Indian officials has landed in the United States to take custody of Tahawwur Rana, a key figure in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that claimed 166 lives. The Pakistan-born Canadian physician lost his final plea against extradition in the US Supreme Court this week, paving the way for his transfer to face trial in India after years of legal battles.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) spearheads the mission, with a three-member team—including an Inspector General and a Deputy Inspector General—joined by intelligence officers. Sources say Rana could soon be flown to Delhi, possibly within days, following the Supreme Court’s rejection of his emergency stay plea on April 7. “This is a significant step toward justice for the 26/11 victims,” an official told Hindustan Times, speaking anonymously.
Rana’s role in the attacks, orchestrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), involved aiding David Coleman Headley, who scouted targets across Mumbai. From the Taj Mahal Palace to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the 60-hour siege left scars still felt today. Arrested in Chicago in 2009, Rana was convicted in the US for supporting LeT but acquitted of direct Mumbai attack charges—yet India’s evidence convinced US courts otherwise.
The extradition greenlight, approved during PM Narendra Modi’s February US visit under Trump’s administration, marks a diplomatic win. Trump called Rana “one of the very evil people” behind the carnage, a sentiment echoed by Modi, who thanked the US for its cooperation. Once in India, Rana is expected to face NIA grilling and a high-security cell, possibly at Tihar Jail.
For Mumbai’s survivors and victims’ families, this is a long-awaited reckoning—16 years after the nightmare that also killed six Americans. But questions linger: will Pakistan, accused of harboring the plotters, ever face accountability? As India tightens its grip on Rana, the hope is that justice, though delayed, won’t be denied.
