Mumbai attacks convict Tahawwur Hussain Rana has exhausted his legal options to evade extradition to India. This clears the obstacles to bring him back to face the charges for what is counted among the deadliest terror attacks across the world.

The 2008 terror attacks shook Mumbai, the financial capital of the country. At least 166 people were killed in the attacks by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a banned outfit.

Ajmal Kasab, the sole attacker who was caught alive, was the only convict executed in the case. Two more masterminds are yet to be brought to justice, Rana being one of them.

Another is Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, an Indian operative who worked for the Lashkar terror group. He was arrested in 2012 after being identified by Kasab and is currently imprisoned in Mumbai.

Who Is Tahawwur Rana?

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, had earlier worked as a doctor for the Pakistan Army. He had prior knowledge of the attacks, and a federal jury convicted him of helping Lashkar with material support in 2011.

He was also known to Pakistani-American David Headley, who was among the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks. Rana and Hadley were arrested in 2009 by the FBI while plotting an attack against a Danish newspaper. During his interrogation in the US, Hadley had revealed before Indian officers that he had travelled to India five times between 2007 and 2008 and done recce for the Mumbai attacks – using a five-year visa that Rana had helped him obtain.

Hadley had also revealed the role of Lashkar in the Mumbai attacks and said he had opened an immigration company to hide his identity with Rana’s help. He had testified that Rana gave him all the logistical and financial support he needed.

To prepare for the attack, Rana visited Mumbai with his wife and stayed at the Taj Mahal Hotel, which later became a target of the attacks.

The Extradition

Besides being legal, Rana’s extradition has been a long diplomatic battle for India. In 2019, the government had first approached the US with a request to extradite him. For the next six years, India repeatedly followed this up with the US authorities while Rana looked for legal options.

The breakthrough came last August when a lower court ordered his extradition and was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this month. It has now turned down a review request, clearing all the legal obstacles to his extradition.

Read: Terrorists To Economic Offenders: 5 Fugitives India Is Trying To Extradite

Since 2019, India has maintained Rana was the mastermind behind the 26/11 attacks.

In his defence, Rana had argued that he was tried in a local district court in Chicago for the Mumbai attacks, and he cannot be tried for the same offence in another country as per the extradition treaty between India and US.

The US Solicitor General, however, told the court that all the charges against Rana, on which India seeks his extradition, were not covered by the US government’s prosecution.

What’s Next

Legal obstacles being taken care of, it’s now a matter of time before Rana is extradited to India.

His extradition will not be just a big diplomatic victory but an example of how people cannot run from the law after committing a crime. His interrogation on the Indian land will help Indian officers reveal new details and missing links.

Related to the 26/11 attacks or not, cases can be reopened if the investigators find any clue from Rana. If someone evaded enforcement radar in the past, they could face a fresh probe.

Rana has been a close associate of the Pakistani spy agency ISI and by bringing him to India, Indian agencies will get access to what actually transpired behind this conspiracy, said PK Jain, former police chief of Maharashtra.

“Rana is aware of the operations of the ISI and Pakistani elements in America and India. He’s going to be a storehouse of information. I’m sure Indian agencies will be able to dig out a lot of important information from him,” he told NDTV.

Aniket Nikam, an advocate at the Bombay High Court, said once Rana is brought back, a fresh case will be filed against him and a new chargesheet will be prepared. India and the US had signed an extradition treaty in 1998, under which the process of bringing him back had started, he said.

The extradition process will start with Rana’s deportation from the US. Indian officers will go there and take him into custody, after which he will face the trial, said Mr Nikam.

“The US Supreme Court has rejected Rana’s appeal. After that you have no other option left. He will be brought to India. This victory was achieved through diplomatic channels. He will be brought to India as soon as possible,” said the advocate.

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who has been convicted in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks case, has lost his last legal option in the US to avoid extradition to India. The Supreme Court in the US approved Rana’s extradition on Saturday as it dismissed the terror convict’s review request against his conviction. This clears the way for India to extradite the terror mastermind and bring him to justice.

Besides Rana, India is trying to bring back several other offenders who had turned fugitive to escape the laws back home. The government said last month that of all the fugitives, one-third are hiding in the US, which has become a “safe haven” for criminals and terrorists.

Here’s a list of 5 key extradition battles being fought by the country abroad:

Tahawwur Hussain Rana

Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman, is wanted for his role in the Mumbai attacks in which over 160 people were killed. A former military doctor who has served in the Pakistan Army, he had prior knowledge of the 2008 attacks. He was arrested in 2009 for a terror plot in Denmark. Apart from this case, he has been convicted of helping Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) with material support. In the latest update, the US Supreme Court has cleared his extradition to India.

Read: US Supreme Court Clears 26/11 Convict Tahawwur Rana’s Extradition To India

Arsh Dalla

Khalistani terrorist Arshdeep Singh Gill alia Arsh Dalla, the de-facto leader of the banned outfit Khalistan Tiger Force, is based in Canada. He is wanted in India in over 50 cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and terrorist acts. He was designed a “terrorist” in January, 2004. Sources suggest he has been in touch with the Pakistani spy agency ISI. Dalla was arrested last October after he was injured in an attack. Since then, India has been trying to extradite him, but he secured a bail in December.

Read: Khalistani Terrorist Arsh Dalla Gets Bail In Canada Amid India’s Push For Extradition

Anmol Bishnoi

Anmol Bishnoi is the younger brother of Lawrence Bishnoi, who runs the dreaded Bishnoi gang from a jail in Gujarat. He is wanted in India for several high-profile cases, including murders of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala and politician Baba Siddique. Anmol was arrested in US last November for entering the country without valid documents. Intelligence sources had indicated there was no possibility for him to extradited so soon despite custody request from Delhi.

Read: Chilling History Of Squirrel Cage Jail, Where Anmol Bishnoi Is Lodged

Vijay Mallya

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who faces a loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore, left India in 2016 and is currently in the UK. He is wanted in India for fraud after the collapse of his now-defunct company Kingfisher Airlines. He was declared a fugitive in 2019. India is in a long legal fight for the custody of Mallya, which is unlikely to end anytime soon. Back home, a CBI court issued a fresh non-bailable warrant against him last year in a separate Rs 180 crore loan default case.

Nirav Modi

Diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are the key accused in the Rs 14,000 crore PNB loan fraud case. The two are being probed over an alleged nexus with the bank officials that helped them with the fraud. Nirav Modi left the country in 2018 and was arrested in London the same year. Lodged in a UK jail now, he has lost all his petitions against extradition to India so far. Mehul Choksi is now in Antigua.

Besides, there is a list of several other offenders that India is trying to bring back. The list includes Sanjay Bhandari, an arms deal consultant, who is in the UK and faces charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

Sourabh Chandrakar, promoter of the Mahadev betting app, is also facing extradition over money laundering charges after his arrest in Dubai in 2023. It was reported then that he has been kept under “house detention” amid efforts by Indian agencies to secure his deportation.