Mumbai terror attack suspect extradited to India from US

Tahawwur Hussain Rana, allegedly a key plotter in the 2008 attacks, was transported on a special flight.

A suspected key plotter in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks has been extradited to India from the US. Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who is of Pakistani origin and holds Canadian and American citizenship, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday.

Rana was formally arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) upon his arrival in the Indian capital. He will be tried in a special NIA court for his alleged role in the Mumbai terror attacks, which killed more than 166 people on November 26, 2008.

The 64-year-old is likely to be presented before the Patiala House court in Delhi, where a special NIA judge will preside over the case, reports said.

Rana was born in Pakistan’s Punjab Province. A physician, he served in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps before emigrating to Canada with his wife, also a physician, in 1997. They obtained Canadian citizenship in 2001 although Rana mainly lived in Chicago, owning several businesses, including an immigration service agency. He and co-accused American citizen David Coleman Headley allegedly attended Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror training camps in Pakistan.

The NIA charged Rana in absentia in 2011 after he was arrested in the US as an accomplice of Headley, the purported mastermind who carried out the planning and reconnaissance operations for the Mumbai attacks at the behest of the LeT’s chief, Hafiz Saeed.

Rana was believed to be involved in the planning of the attacks, assisting Headley in procuring a visa and creating a false identity so he could travel to India.

The trial against Rana began in a US District Court in May 2011. In June of the same year a jury acquitted him of conspiracy to provide material support in the Mumbai attacks. The Indian government expressed disappointment over Rana’s acquittal at the time.

However, Headley provided details about Rana’s alleged role during his video-conferencing deposition in March-April 2016.

The US Supreme Court rejected Rana’s plea against his extradition to India in January 2025. US President Donald Trump announced the decision to extradite him during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country, fulfilling a long-standing demand.

The New Delhi Bar Association has assured a fair and transparent trial for Rana, according to the PTI news agency.