Tahawwur Rana, David Coleman Headley eyed India Gate, National Defence College, Jewish centres for spectacular terror attacks

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Tahawwur Rana, one of the main plotters of the 2008 Mumbai attack, had contacted David Coleman Headley 231 times during his visits to India ahead of the 26/11 carnage, according to the Indian dossier on him. Rana also conducted eight reconnaissance missions and the highest number of calls — 66 — were made during the final visit before the attack.

According to the dossier, Rana and Headley, along with other operatives, had mapped other targets in India, including the National Defence College and India Gate in Delhi and multiple Jewish centres, as part of their plan to carry out spectacular terror attacks.

The chargesheet on him details that Rana, along with Headley, Hafeez Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Ilyas Kashmiri, Sajid Mir and Major Iqbal, among others, conspired to orchestrate the terror attack.

Investigation by both India and the US confirmed that Rana's Chicago-based immigration firm, First World Immigration Services, was used as a front to facilitate Headley's entry into India. Headley and Rana had a thorough discussion about their future plans when they met in the US. "As Rana was a deserter from the army, Headley offered to provide assistance through his connection with Major Iqbal," reads the dossier.

Backed by the ISI, Rana exploited every option available to him to thwart his extradition. He even claimed pleas of double jeopardy/double prosecution which essentially holds that a person cannot be prosecuted twice for the same offence. The US court, however, rejected his contention that the US judiciary had already tried and acquitted him of charges for which India wanted him.

The US court said the crimes he had been charged with in India were different from those for which he was prosecuted in the US. "For example, India's forgery charges are based in part on conduct that was not charged in the United States," the court said

Rana's 2013 conviction in the US, where he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, was for supporting Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba and a terror plot in Denmark. Rana was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a plot from Oct 2008 to Oct 2009 to commit murder in Denmark, including a plan to behead employees of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper which published a cartoon of the Prophet, and throw their heads on the streets in Copenhagen, as well as providing material support, from late 2005 to Oct 2009, to Lashkar.

Citing his visits to Mumbai and Delhi for allegedly providing logistical support for the 26/11 attacks, Mumbai crime branch in Sept 2023 had filed a 405-page supplementary chargesheet against the 62-year-old ex-military doctor. This formed the basis for the dossier on him.

There are 14-15 witnesses named in this chargesheet, which was the last one filed in the case. With it, Rana faces charges of murder, attempted murder, and waging war against India. Mumbai Police have said they have evidence against the Pakistan-born Canadian national in the form of documents on his travels and his stay in India.

"Rana arrived in New Delhi on Nov 11, 2008 and stayed in India for 11 days. For two days — Nov 20 and 21, he stayed at a hotel in Powai," a police officer said. After two days in the city, Rana left for Dubai a week before the attacks.

On the night of Nov 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists entered Mumbai by the sea route and attacked CSMT, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, Trident Hotel, Chabad House among other landmarks, killing 166 people including over a dozen foreign nationals. In a 60-hour operation, the NSG and other security agencies killed nine terrorists while one was captured alive.

The 26/11 trial began in 2009 with the prosecution of Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist who was nabbed alive, and two others, Mumbai resident Faheem Ansari and Bihar resident Sabahuddin Ahmed. The latter two were acquitted. Subsequently, Headley was pardoned by the trial court and accepted as a prosecution witness. His testimony against Rana and others provided more material to the prosecutors.

Another accused, Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, alleged to be Kasab's handler, was deported from Saudi Arabia and arrested in this case. He was also chargesheeted, but currently his trial has been stayed by Bombay high court.

Inspector Hemant Bhawdhankar, part of the team that apprehended Ajmal Kasab, said, "It's a very good initiative by the govt to get Rana deported and face trial. He was a key player operating behind the scenes."

Former Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad chief K.P. Raghuvanshi expressed satisfaction over the news of Rana's extradition, saying, "It's a victory of justice. I'm glad to hear that he will face trial here."