What NIA said in first statement after taking Tahawwur Rana into custody

Rana, extradited from the United States late Wednesday after he exhausted all legal avenues, was flown into Delhi on a special aircraft amid tight security.

NIA Secures Successful Extradition of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Mastermind Tahawwur Rana from US pic.twitter.com/sFaiztiodl

— NIA India (@NIA_India) April 10, 2025

The statement further read: “The District Court for the Central District of California had ordered his extradition on 16th May 2023. Rana then filed multiple litigations in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, all of which were rejected. He subsequently filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, two habeas petitions, and an emergency application before the US Supreme Court, which were also denied. The extradition proceedings were initiated between the two countries after India eventually secured a surrender warrant for the wanted terrorist from the US government.”

Rana is believed to be a close aide of David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist who conducted reconnaissance missions for the attacks. Headley, now serving a prison sentence in the US, had testified that Rana provided both logistical and financial support for the Mumbai plot. Indian agencies have long maintained that Rana had deep connections with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s Army, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — the outfit behind the 26/11 attack.

“Both LeT and HUJI have been declared as terrorist organisations by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967,” the NIA said.

Rana is currently undergoing a medical check-up, following which he will be taken to the NIA headquarters for questioning. He is facing charges ranging from waging war against India and murder to criminal conspiracy and forgery.