India
oi-Amit Vasudev
With
26/11
mastermind
Tahawwur
Rana
scheduled
to
arrive
in
India
on
Wednesday,
two
prisons-one
in
Delhi
and
another
in
Mumbai-have
been
discreetly
instructed
to
make
special
arrangements,
in
accordance
with
recommendations
from
the
US
judiciary
regarding
extradited
individuals,
reported
the
Times
of
India.
Initially,
Rana
is
expected
to
be
in
the
custody
of
the
National
Investigation
Agency
(NIA)
for
several
weeks.
The
operation
was
overseen
by
National
Security
Adviser
Ajit
Doval,
alongside
officials
from
the
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs.
Rana
Rana,
a
Pakistani-Canadian
national
and
active
member
of
Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT),
facilitated
the
acquisition
of
passports
for
his
associate,
Pakistani-American
David
Coleman
Headley
(also
known
as
Dawood
Gilani),
enabling
him
to
travel
to
India
and
identify
targets
for
the
terrorist
attack
being
orchestrated
by
Lashkar
in
coordination
with
the
Inter-Services
Intelligence
(ISI),
Pakistan’s
intelligence
agency.
Rana
reportedly
expressed
satisfaction
over
the
deaths
in
Mumbai
on
26
November
2008,
and
claimed
that
the
terrorists
responsible
deserved
Pakistan’s
highest
military
honours
posthumously.
To
date,
only
Ajmal
Kasab-the
sole
LeT
terrorist
captured
alive
during
the
26/11
attacks-has
been
prosecuted.
In
February,
US
President
Donald
Trump
confirmed
Rana’s
extradition
to
India,
stating
he
was
pleased
to
announce
that
Rana
would
be
“returning
to
India
to
face
justice”.
The
extradition
marks
the
outcome
of
consistent
efforts
by
the
Modi
government
since
2019.
In
December
of
that
year,
India
submitted
a
formal
diplomatic
request
to
the
United
States
for
Rana’s
extradition.
Subsequently,
on
10
June
2020,
India
filed
a
legal
request
seeking
his
provisional
arrest
as
a
precursor
to
the
extradition
process.
According
to
documents
submitted
in
a
US
court
by
both
nations,
Rana
was
a
close
associate
of
ISI
officer
Major
Iqbal,
the
alleged
mastermind
behind
the
Mumbai
attacks.
Together,
Rana
and
Headley
laid
the
foundation
for
the
deadly
assaults.
Investigators
claim
Rana
personally
travelled
to
Mumbai
via
Dubai
in
advance
of
the
attacks
to
ensure
logistical
details
were
in
place.
A
police
report
states:
“He
checked
into
the
Renaissance
Hotel
in
Powai
during
his
visit
to
India
between
11
and
21
November
2008.
The
attacks
occurred
five
days
after
his
departure.”
A
document
from
the
US
Department
of
Justice
details
how
Rana
and
Headley
were
arrested
by
the
FBI
in
2009
while
conspiring
to
attack
a
Danish
newspaper
and
providing
material
support
to
Lashkar
from
2005
to
2009.
In
testimony
provided
in
a
US
court,
Headley
recounted
that
in
early
summer
2006,
he
and
two
Lashkar
operatives
discussed
setting
up
an
immigration
office
in
Mumbai
as
a
front
for
his
reconnaissance
activities.
He
later
travelled
to
Chicago
to
inform
Rana,
his
longtime
friend
since
their
school
days
in
Pakistan,
of
his
mission
to
scout
targets
in
India.
Their
collaboration
was
such
that,
by
late
summer
2009,
they
agreed
that
funds
previously
given
to
Rana
could
be
redirected
to
support
Headley’s
operations
in
Denmark.
Evidence
revealed
that
Rana
impersonated
Headley
in
an
email
to
the
Danish
newspaper.
In
the
case
of
the
Mumbai
attacks,
Headley
obtained
Rana’s
approval
to
open
a
branch
of
First
World
Immigration
Services-Rana’s
company
based
in
Chicago
and
other
locations-in
Mumbai,
using
it
as
a
cover
for
his
surveillance.
Between
2007
and
2008,
Headley
visited
India
five
times,
conducting
reconnaissance
under
a
five-year
visa
which
Rana
had
helped
him
secure.
According
to
the
justice
department,
“Rana
instructed
a
First
World
associate
to
prepare
documents
supporting
Headley’s
cover
story
and
guided
him
on
how
to
obtain
a
visa
for
travel
to
India.”
Mumbai
Police
also
unearthed
email
correspondence
between
Headley
and
Rana,
which
included
discussions
about
Major
Iqbal.
