26/11 accused a step closer to extradition

TAHAWWUR RANA, AN AIDE OF DAVID COLEMAN HEADLEY, WAS GRANTED EARLY RELEASE FROM A LOS ANGELES PRISON LAST WEEK AFTER HE WAS DETECTED COVID+

nNEW DELHI: Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian sent to a US jail for his role in planning the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has been arrested after being freed from prison in order to face extradition to India.

Rana, 59, a close associate of David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators behind the attacks on India’s financial hub that killed 166 people, was serving a 14-year sentence in a Los Angeles federal prison when he was granted early release last week because of poor health and being infected by the coronavirus.

However, he never left the prison as he was arrested to face extradition to India, US prosecutors told The Associated Press. Indian officials said they learnt Rana was rearrested on June 10.

Officials familiar with developments said a US attorney informed the district judge in Los Angeles about India’s standing request for the extradition of

Rana, wanted in India for terror charges. A senior NIA officer, who didn’t want to be named, said: “It’s a positive development after over 11 years. This means his extradition hearings will now take place.”

Former home secretary GK Pillai, who played a key role in the investigation of the attacks and coordinated with the US, said there was a pending Indian extradition request for Rana. “There is a standing Indian extradition request for Rana and that will still be applicable,” he told HT. A person in the government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US authorities acted as there was a request for Rana’s preliminary arrest.