A day after the 26/11 terror accused Tahawwur Rana was extradited to India to stand trial, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) disclosed new and disturbing details about his alleged actions and mindset following the 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed 166 lives and injured more than 238.
According to the DoJ, shortly after the coordinated assault, Rana allegedly told his longtime friend and co-conspirator David Coleman Headley that the nine Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives killed during the attack “should be given the Nishan-e-Haider” — Pakistan’s highest military honor for valor in combat, typically awarded posthumously to soldiers. The statement further revealed that Rana reportedly remarked to Headley, “the Indians deserved it,” after the massacre.
Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian national, was formally taken into custody by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) upon his arrival in New Delhi on Thursday, following his extradition from the U.S.
More than 16 years after the attacks, he was produced before a Delhi court, where the NIA sought 20 days of custodial interrogation. The court granted 18.
The 64-year-old former Pakistan Army Medical Corps officer and businessman was arrested in Chicago in October 2009, nearly a year after the Mumbai carnage.
Indian authorities have charged him with conspiracy, murder, committing terrorist acts, and forgery, all linked to his alleged role in facilitating the LeT-led attack.
In an official statement on Friday, the U.S. DoJ highlighted India’s claims that Rana played a central role in enabling Headley — born Daood Gilani — to conduct surveillance in Mumbai ahead of the attacks.
Prosecutors said Rana helped Headley pose as a legitimate businessman by opening a Mumbai branch of his immigration services company, even though Headley had no relevant qualifications or experience.
Rana also allegedly assisted Headley in securing Indian visas using false information and provided supporting documents through an unwitting business associate, helping Headley establish a credible front for his surveillance missions on behalf of LeT.
The DoJ noted that over a span of more than two years, Headley regularly met with Rana in Chicago, where he briefed him on his reconnaissance work, LeT’s feedback, and the terror group’s emerging plans for the Mumbai operation.
Calling Rana’s extradition “a critical step toward justice,” the DoJ underscored the significance of the move, especially for the families of the six Americans killed in the Mumbai attacks, as well as the scores of other victims.
The Mumbai attacks, which unfolded over three days between November 26 and 29, 2008, were carried out by 10 LeT-trained operatives who infiltrated the city by sea.
Armed with automatic weapons and explosives, they split into teams and launched coordinated assaults on multiple high-profile targets, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station, the Jewish community center (Chabad House), and popular restaurants.
The attackers left a trail of devastation, indiscriminately opening fire on civilians, detonating explosives, and taking hostages.
By the time Indian security forces regained control, 166 people had lost their lives — including six American citizens — and over $1.5 billion worth of damage had been inflicted on the city.
This is not the first time Rana has faced legal action for terror-related offenses. In 2013, a U.S. court sentenced him to 14 years in prison after he was convicted of conspiring to provide material support to LeT and for involvement in a separate LeT-backed terror plot targeting Copenhagen, Denmark.
With his extradition complete, Indian authorities are now preparing to prosecute Rana for his alleged role in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country’s history.