Mumbai:
People consider a doctor as a form of God and consider him a trouble-shooter, because the duty of doctors is to give life to humans. But this story is of a doctor who distributed death in Mumbai 27 years ago. Due to his evil conspiracy, 167 people lost their lives in Mumbai. Now the time is going to reckon with that doctor. The noose is waiting for him in some jail in India.
This is the story of Tahawwur Rana, who was once a doctor in the Pakistan Army and who is accused of being involved in the Mumbai attacks of 26 November 2008. This attack was such that India will never be able to forget. There was an orgy of death in Mumbai from the night of 26th November to the morning of 29th November. Ten terrorists, who came to Mumbai via sea from Pakistan, targeted the city’s main railway station, five-star hotels, hospital and Jewish cultural centre. Of those ten terrorists, only one, Ajmal Kasab, could be captured alive, while the remaining nine were killed in the encounter.
Only Kasab was captured alive among the attacking terrorists.
Ajmal Kasab was tried in India, and given death sentence in 2012. About a year after that attack, two more names came to light, who were involved in the entire conspiracy. These were Pakistani-origin American citizen David Headley and Pakistani-origin Canadian Tahawwur Rana. Both of them were arrested by the American agency FBI from Chicago. However, the arrest was made in another case. The allegation was that they were plotting a terrorist attack on a Danish newspaper which published the Prophet’s picture.
After rigorous interrogation of Headley, his role in the Mumbai attacks was revealed. He revealed that he himself had come to India from America five times to recce the targets where the attacks took place. He also told that the attack was planned by Lashkar-e-Taiba. To hide his identity in Mumbai, Headley opened the office of an immigration company named “First World Immigration Services” in Taddeo area. The owner of this company was Tahawwur Rana, and it had branches all over the world.
Rana used to run an immigration company
Born in 1961 in Punjab province of Pakistan, Tahawwur Rana was a doctor in the army and his rank was that of Captain. In 1997, he left the army service and settled in Canada with his doctor wife. In 2001 he got Canadian citizenship. However, he lived in Chicago and ran his immigration company from there.
In Chicago he met his old friend David Headley, who had taken training in Lashkar-e-Taiba camps in Pakistan. Major Iqbal of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI involved both of them in the conspiracy of terrorist attack in Mumbai. Rana himself once came to Mumbai with his wife to conduct recce of the targets and stayed in the same Taj Mahal hotel, which later became the victim of the attack.
Headley had given information about Rana in America
After being caught in America, Headley gave complete information to the investigating officers about his and Rana’s role in the Mumbai attack conspiracy. The US court sentenced Headley to 35 years in prison, but acquitted Rana in the Mumbai attacks case. However, he received a 14-year sentence for plotting a terrorist attack in Denmark.
Meanwhile, India arrested another accused in the 26/11 attacks, Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal. Mumbai Police got Headley pardon from the court and made him a government witness. Through video call, Headley narrated the entire story of the attack in the court and also told about Rana’s role.
India demands extradition of Rana from America
After Headley’s statement, the Indian government demanded Rana’s extradition from America. America was ready to send him to India under the extradition treaty, but Rana challenged this order in the local court. He said that he is being implicated in this case and India has no concrete evidence against him.
However, the court rejected Rana’s arguments and ordered his extradition to India. Rana challenged this decision in the higher court, but his appeal was rejected on January 1. Now the possibility of bringing Rana to India has become strong. However, he still has some legal options in America. If there is a trial against him in India and he is proved guilty, then there will be no suitable punishment for him other than death by hanging.
