Mumbai:
So far, only Ajmal Kasab has been given death sentence in the terrorist attack case of 26 November 2008. There are two more accused related to this attack who are waiting to be hanged. One is Abu Jundal who was the handler of terrorists in the Pakistan camp and the other is Tahawwur Rana, who is accused of being one of the masterminds of this conspiracy. Abu Jundal has been caught by India and is imprisoned in Mumbai jail but Tahawwur Rana is currently in America. News has come that the American court has given approval to extradite him to India.
Tahawwur Rana was a doctor in Pakistan Army
This is the story of Tahawwur Rana, who was once a doctor in the Pakistan Army. He is accused of being involved in the conspiracy of 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks. This attack is a wound which India can never forget. From the night of 26th November till the morning of 29th November, there was a scene of death and destruction in Mumbai. Ten terrorists who came by sea from Pakistan targeted Mumbai’s railway station, five-star hotels, hospital and Jewish center. Of those ten, only one, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive, the remaining nine were killed in the encounter.
How was Rana caught?
Ajmal Kasab was tried in India and hanged to death in 2012. But, a year after that attack, two more names came to light, who were the real characters of this dreadful conspiracy. These were David Headley, an American of Pakistani descent, and Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian of Pakistani descent. Both of them were arrested by the American intelligence agency FBI from Chicago. However, the arrest was made in a separate case, in which it was alleged that they were planning to attack a Danish newspaper.
Rana part of terrorist conspiracy
After rigorous investigation by the FBI, Headley confessed that he had conducted reconnaissance of the locations of the Mumbai attacks. He traveled to India five times and inspected the places where the attack was to take place. He also told that this conspiracy was prepared by Lashkar-e-Taiba. To hide his identity, he opened the office of an immigration company “First World Immigration Services” in Tardeo area. The owner of this company was Tahawwur Rana and it had branches all over the world.
Tahawwur Rana was born in 1961 in Punjab, Pakistan. He was a doctor in the Pakistani Army and held the rank of Captain. In 1997, he left the army and settled in Canada with his wife. In 2001, he got Canadian citizenship. However, he lived in Chicago and ran his immigration company from there.
Rana had come to Mumbai for the attack
In Chicago he met his old friend David Headley. Headley had taken terrorism training in the training camp of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan. Major Iqbal of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI included both of them in the conspiracy to attack in Mumbai. To prepare for the attack, Rana himself came to Mumbai with his wife and stayed in the same Taj Mahal hotel, which later became the target of the attack.
What did Hadley say?
After being arrested in America, Headley revealed his and Rana’s entire conspiracy to Indian officials. The US court sentenced Headley to 35 years in prison, but Rana was acquitted of the Mumbai attacks. However, he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy against Denmark. Meanwhile, India arrested another accused in the Mumbai attacks, Abu Jundal. Headley was pardoned by the court and made a government witness. Through video call, Headley narrated the entire story of the attack in the Mumbai court and highlighted the role of Tahawwur Rana.
Rana’s extradition approved
After Headley’s statement, India demanded Rana’s extradition from America. America agreed to send him to India under the extradition treaty. But, Rana challenged this order in the American court. He claimed that he was being implicated in this case. The American court rejected his arguments. In January, the higher court also rejected his appeal. Now the hope of bringing Tahawwur Rana to India has increased. If he is proved guilty in the Indian court, then no other punishment except death will be appropriate for him.
