- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: The special plane bringing Tahawwur Rana, convicted of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, from the US to India has reached Delhi. The plane landed at Delhi’s Palam Technical Airport. From here, Tahawwur will be taken directly to the NIA headquarters. Tight security arrangements have been made outside the NIA headquarters.
According to jail sources, Rana will be kept in a high-security ward in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. The jail administration has made the necessary arrangements for this. However, the final decision on when and in which ward he will be kept will be taken only after the court’s order. A joint team of investigative agency NIA and intelligence agency RAW left the US on Wednesday with Tahawwur.
Rana can be produced in the Patiala House Court. His medical test will be done before the appearance. Tahawwur Rana will be kept in the high-security ward of Delhi’s Tihar Jail. The jail administration has made special security arrangements.
. On Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the extradition as a major diplomatic success for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
“Tahawwur Rana’s extradition is a big success of Prime Minister Modi’s diplomacy,” Shah said, calling it a defining triumph for the administration and a step toward justice for the victims of the horrific attacks. Rana’s extradition marks the beginning of long-awaited legal proceedings into one of the most devastating terror episodes in India’s contemporary history.
Officially handed over to the NIA on April 8, 2025, in California, Rana had fought a protracted legal battle in the US to avoid being sent to India. His legal team had filed multiple appeals, including to the US Supreme Court, but all were ultimately rejected. In his defence, Rana cited deteriorating health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, a serious abdominal aneurysm, and symptoms of bladder cancer, claiming these made him unfit to face trial in India. However, the US courts were unconvinced by his arguments, with his final appeal dismissed on April 7. The extradition honours a prior assurance reportedly given by former US President Donald Trump during discussions with Prime Minister Modi.
A known associate of David Coleman Headley — another key conspirator in the 26/11 plot — Rana is believed to have had close links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. While a US jury had earlier acquitted Rana of directly supporting the Mumbai attacks, he was convicted on separate terror charges and served over a decade in prison. He was released during the Covid-19 pandemic on health grounds but was re-arrested in 2020 on the Indian extradition request, eventually leading to the present development. Rana’s arrival in India opens a crucial chapter in the investigation of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, potentially shedding light on the deeper nexus between global terror networks and state-sponsored actors. The Indian government is expected to push for a speedy trial in this high-profile case.
