The Mumbai police’s crime branch has filed a supplementary chargesheet in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case against Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana. The chargesheet includes critical information regarding Rana’s presence in Mumbai days before the 2008 attacks.
According to a senior official from the Mumbai police, the chargesheet reveals that Rana stayed in India from November 11, 2008, to November 21, 2008. During this period, he spent two days at the Renaissance Hotel in Powai, a suburban area of Mumbai. The chargesheet, which spans over 400 pages, is the fourth to be filed in the case so far and was submitted before a special court overseeing cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Rana, who is currently detained in the United States, is facing multiple charges related to his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks. He is known to have close ties with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
The chargesheet provides compelling evidence of Rana’s active role in the conspiracy alongside David Coleman Headley. It includes documents and statements that establish his involvement in the plot. Rana is believed to have played a crucial part in assisting Headley in obtaining an Indian tourist visa using fraudulent documents. Furthermore, Rana is accused of providing logistical support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist organization responsible for the 26/11 terror attacks. The crime branch’s investigation has uncovered email communications between Rana and Headley, shedding light on their collaboration. Rana is currently lodged in jail in the United States in the case of the murder of a journalist. The case may be heard in court. Earlier Ujjwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case, had said the possible extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the case, was now a question of a few months. “ It would all depend now on the US administration as to when Tahawwur Rana is to be sent back to India for trial. The moot question is where he will be tried, whether in the NIA court at Delhi or elsewhere, those questions will be decided by the investigating agency,” the special public prosecutor of the 26/11 case added.
Nikam’s statement came on the heels of US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel’s remarks to call for those involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to be brought to justice. Patel, however, said that the extradition process of Tahawwur Rana is a “pending matter”. A US court denied the writ of habeas corpus filed by Tahawwur Rana, paving the way for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to issue a certification for him to be extradited to India, where he is facing charges of his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Rana was arrested in the US on an extradition request by India for his role in the Mumbai attacks that killed 175 people, including six Americans. Indian authorities allege that Rana conspired with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley to assist the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba in orchestrating the terror attacks. David Headley had pleaded guilty and testified against Rana. The 26/11 Mumbai attacks, started on the evening of November 26, 2008, shook the city of Mumbai. Ten terrorists infiltrated into Mumbai from Pakistan using the sea route and carried out a series of attacks that resulted in the death of 175 people. The attackers had targeted prominent locations like the Leopold Cafe, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, The Trident Hotel, CST Railway Station and the Nariman House.