‘Big Win For India,’ Says 26/11 Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam As US Prepares To Send Tahawwur Rana To India
US Clears 26/11 Convict Tahawwur Rana's Extradition: The US court dismissed a review petition against his conviction in the case, crushing Rana’s last legal chance not to be extradited to India
US Clears 26/11 Convict Tahawwur Rana’s Extradition: 26/11 prosecutor and senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam dubbed the United States Supreme Court’s decision to extradite Mumbai terror attack convict Tahawwur Rana to India as “a big win for India".
“It’s a big win for India. The US didn’t accept his arguments and pleas. I am happy that the Trump government will send him immediately," Nikam told CNN-News18.
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India was seeking the extradition of Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, as he was wanted in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks case. The US court dismissed a review petition against his conviction in the case, crushing Rana’s last legal chance not to be extradited to India.
Earlier, he lost a legal battle in several federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco.
On November 13, Rana filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the US Supreme Court, which was denied on January 21, the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as President. The Supreme Court issued a simple statement: “Petition DENIED."
Rana, 64, is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Los Angeles. Previously, on December 16, the US government had argued that the petition should be rejected.
US Solicitor General Elizabeth B Prelogar made this argument in a filing with the Supreme Court, stating that not all the conduct for which India sought Rana’s extradition was covered by the US prosecution. Specifically, she pointed to India’s forgery charges, which involved actions not addressed in the US case, such as Rana’s submission of false information to the Reserve Bank of India when applying to open a branch office of the Immigration Law Centre.
Prelogar also noted that the verdict in the US case, which involved conspiracy charges, was difficult to interpret and did not necessarily mean that Rana had been convicted or acquitted of all the specific conduct India had charged.
Rana is linked to Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, a key figure in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were killed, including six Americans, as 10 Pakistani terrorists carried out a siege on several key locations in Mumbai over 60 hours.
What Devika Rotawan said on Tahawwur Rana’s extradition
A victim of the 26/11 attack, Devika Natwarlal Rotawan, said, “Tahawwur Hussain Rana is being brought to India, I am very happy about this. I want him to be brought to India, so we can get all the information and he should be punished as soon as possible. Such terrorists should be hanged…My father and I were called to the courtroom for the identification of terrorists. My father had seen both the terrorists and I had seen Kasab on the night of the attack. In the courtroom, I was asked to recognize Kasab. Even today my dream is to become an officer and eliminate terrorism."
(With PTI inputs)
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