Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana allegedly said the Indians “deserved it" and commended the nine LeT terrorists killed during the attack, suggesting that they should be given "Nishan-e-Haider”, Pakistan’s highest gallantry award, according to the US Department of Justice.
The US on Wednesday extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, to stand trial in India on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
"Rana’s extradition is a critical step toward seeking justice for the six Americans and scores of other victims who were killed in the heinous attacks," the Department of Justice said in a statement.
India alleges that Rana facilitated a fraudulent cover so that his childhood friend Headley, a US citizen born Daood Gilani, could freely travel to Mumbai to conduct surveillance of potential attack sites for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
After the attack, Rana allegedly told Headley, one of the main conspirators of the assault, that the Indians “deserved it", the statement said.
"In an intercepted conversation with Headley, Rana allegedly commended the nine LeT terrorists who had been killed committing the attacks, saying that “they should be given Nishan-e-Haider”-Pakistan’s highest award for gallantry in battle, which is reserved for fallen soldiers," the statement said.
India alleges that Headley received training from LeT members in Pakistan and was in direct communication with the terrorist outfit about plans to attack Mumbai.
Rana agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business and appoint Headley as the manager of the office, despite the latter having no immigration experience, it said.
On two separate occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities that contained information the former knew to be false. Rana also supplied, through his unsuspecting business partner, documentation in support of Headley’s attempt to secure formal approval from Indian authorities to open a branch office of his immigration business.
"Over more than two years, Headley repeatedly met Rana in Chicago and described his surveillance activities on behalf of LeT, LeT’s responses to Headley’s activities, and LeT’s potential plans for attacking Mumbai," the statement said.
Between November 26 and 29, 2008, ten LeT terrorists carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai.
LeT terrorists infiltrated the city by sea, dispersing to multiple locations in teams. They attacked a train station, two restaurants, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and a Jewish community centre.
Hundreds of people were injured in the attack and Mumbai sustained more than USD 1.5 billion in property damage.
"The attacks were among the most horrific and catastrophic in India’s history," the statement said.
The US statement also noted that India’s pending proceedings against Rana are not the first proceedings in which he has been accused of conspiring to commit violent acts of terrorism.
In 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison following his trial conviction in the Northern District of Illinois for conspiring to provide material support to LeT and to a foiled LeT-sponsored terrorist plot in Copenhagen, Denmark.
As part of those same criminal proceedings, Headley pleaded guilty to 12 federal terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of the six Americans in Mumbai and later planning to attack a Danish newspaper, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, the statement said.
In June 2020, the United States acted on a request for Rana’s extradition submitted by India, which Rana contested for almost five years. On May 16, 2023, a US magistrate in the Central District of California certified Rana’s extradition to India. Rana then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which the US District Court in the Central District of California denied on August 10, 2023.
On August 15, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision.
The Supreme Court similarly denied Rana’s “petition for certiorari” on January 21, 2025.
The Secretary of State issued a warrant ordering Rana’s surrender to Indian authorities. Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit denied Rana’s application for a stay of extradition, and on April 7, the US Supreme Court denied Rana’s application for a stay of extradition.
On April 9, the US Marshals Service executed the Secretary’s surrender warrant by surrendering Rana to Indian authorities for transportation to India, the statement said.
The statement also named US officials who handled the extradition litigation.
The US Marshals Service and attorneys and international affairs specialists in the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided support to this extradition, it added.
The FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in New Delhi also assisted, the statement said.
