New Delhi:
Tahawwur Rana, accused in the 26/11 terror attacks, has asked the US Supreme Court for an emergency stay on his extradition to India, which was approved by the Donald Trump administration during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his petition — a last-ditch effort — Rana said he would be tortured and killed in India because of his national, religious and social identity.
The petition said he is a Muslim of Pakistani origin and a former member of the Pakistani Army, which would make him susceptible to torture in custody and that he could die given his health condition. Rana claimed he suffers from a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm that can rupture any time, Parkinson’s disease, and possible bladder cancer.
In the petition, he said he cannot be sent into a “hornet’s nest”.
The Indian government, he alleged, is increasingly autocratic, citing the Human Rights Watch 2023 World Report, which alleges systematic discrimination and stigmatization of religious minorities, particularly Muslims in India.
Tahawwur Rana is a known associate of Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the November 26, 2008 attacks in Mumbai, in which 166 people were killed.
Headley has testified against Rana in an US court, saying he had travelled to India five times between 2007 and 2008 and conducted a recce of possible targets in Mumbai.
A businessman, physician, and immigration entrepreneur of Pakistani origin, Rana allegedly has connections with terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.
His role in facilitating the attacks had been a point of contention between India and the US.
But during a joint press conference with PM Modi, President Trump had said, “Today, I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters and one of the very evil people of the world (Tahawwur Rana), having to do with the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack to face justice in India.”
In 2011, Rana was acquitted by a US court on charges of abetting the Mumbai terror attacks but was convicted for providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and helping a terror plot in Denmark. Recently, the US Supreme Court had rejected a review petition he filed.
Several places in Mumbai, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel, were attacked on November 26, 2008, in which 166 people were killed, including 20 personnel from the police and the security forces, and 26 foreigners.
