April 9, 2025 : Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to be brought to India “shortly”, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. According to government sources in India, a multi-agency team from India has gone to the US and all paperwork and legalities are being completed with US authorities.
PTI, citing sources, reported a “very high possibility” that Rana “could be extradited shortly.” However, it is also understood that he is not arriving in India on Wednesday, as the extradition process is still underway.
According to The Times of India report, the authorities in Delhi and Mumbai have been asked to discreetly prepare special jail arrangements in line with guidelines from the US judiciary concerning extradited individuals.
Tahawwur Rana is likely to remain in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the first weeks of his arrival. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior officials from the ministry of home affairs are closely monitoring the entire extradition process, the report added.
The major development comes just days after Rana’s final attempt to block his extradition failed, with US Supreme Court justices rejecting his plea — bringing him a step closer to being handed over to Indian authorities to face trial for the brutal 26/11 attacks.
Rana, 64, who is currently held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, filed an ‘Emergency Application for Stay Pending Litigation of Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus’ on February 27, 2025, with US Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan, who serves as the Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit.
A Pakistani-Canadian businessman and former military doctor, Tahawwur Rana has long been associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley – one of the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Rana’s alleged involvement, including his links with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, has been a point of friction between India and the US for years.
Summary: Tahawwur Rana, 26/11 attack mastermind, is expected to reach India soon. Authorities have tightened security in Mumbai and Delhi jails ahead of his arrival.