Shashi Tharoor applauds Tahawwur Rana's extradition, marking significant progress in justice

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday welcomed the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 case, and said everyone associated with the conspiracy of the Mumbai terror attacks must face the court of justice.

He also described Rana's extradition as a "step forward for justice".

Rana, 64, is a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of one of the main conspirators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, is being brought to India after his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition failed as the US Supreme Court justices rejected his application.

Talking to PTI, Tharoor said, "I think it's a good thing that we have been able to get at least one person extradited. 26/11 (Mumbai terror attacks) was such a horror for our country, in which 166 people were killed brutally. Everyone associated with that conspiracy needs to come before the court of justice." "I am really hoping that we will be able, through the investigation and through the interrogation, to find out more details about what happened, how it happened, how it was run, and equally that this man will be brought to justice. What was done was really terrible," the former diplomat said.

The Congress MP from Kerala said another key conspirator of the 26/11 attacks, David Coleman Headley, was still out of the clutches of the Indian security agencies.

"I think it is important for the people of India that we get some sort of progress towards the closure. That fellow, David Coleman Headley, is still in America. They are not willing to send him to us because of some plea bargain. But we really need to get to the bottom of all of this as much as possible," he said.

The Congress leader said he was feeling bad at this juncture as the victims of the 1985 Air India bombing were still awaiting justice.

"Let's see how much justice we can get in this," Tharoor said.

He said he was "very glad" that Indian authorities managed to get Rana's custody, and said it was a step forward for justice.

"There is too much suffering and tragedy for us to think in terms of a victory, but I think it is at least a step forward for justice," the Congress leader said.

Rana is a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of one of the main conspirators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen.

On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went on a rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into India's financial capital using the sea route in the Arabian Sea.

As many as 166 persons were killed in the nearly 60-hour terror assault.