Mumbai terror attacks’ accused Tahawwur Rana had allegedly lauded the dastardly 2008 action in the financial capital of India by saying that the Indians “deserved it”and suggested the nine Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists killed in counter-offensive by Indian security forces should be given ‘Nishan-e-Haider,’ Pakistan’s highest gallantry award.

These revelations were made by a US Department of Justice statement that also said that “Rana’s extradition is a critical step toward ensuring justice for six Americans and scores of other victims killed in the heinous attacks”.

In an official statement on his extradition, US Department of Justice disclosed fresh details about the former Pakistan Army officer and his links to David Headley.

The US statement said after the coordinated attacks on 12 locations in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, which were carried out by 10 LeT terrorists, killing over 166 people, Rana allegedly told Headley that the Indians “deserved it”.

“In an intercepted conversation with Headley, Rana allegedly commended the nine LeT terrorists killed by security forces, saying “they should be given ‘Nishan-e-Haider’,”the statement said. Of the 10 terrorists, only Ajmal Kasab was captured alive and was hanged to death in a prison in 2012 after a trial in India courts.

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is presently in National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody here. The 64-year-old, who left Pakistan for Canada in the 1990s, provided logistical support to Headley via his immigration consultancy business.

“Among other things, Rana allegedly agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business and appoint Headley as the office manager, despite Headley having no experience in the immigration field,”the US statement said.

The NIA has charged Rana with criminal conspiracy, waging war against India, murder, and offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The Justice Department said Headley, serving a 35-year jail term in the US, received training from Lashkar in Pakistan and was in “direct communication”with the terror outfit about plans to attack Mumbai.

The US also said on two separate occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities.

The statement said more than two years before the attacks, Headley met with Rana in Chicago on several occasions and described his surveillance activities, LeT’s responses, and potential plans for attacking Mumbai.

India alleges that Rana facilitated a fraudulent coverup so that his childhood friend Headley, a US citizen born as Daood Gilani, could freely travel to Mumbai to conduct surveillance of sites/spots for potential attack by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

India also alleges that Headley received training from LeT members in Pakistan and was in direct communication with the terrorist outfit about plans to attack Mumbai.

On two occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities that contained information the former knew to be false.

Rana also supplied, through his unsuspecting business partner, documentation in support of Headley’s attempt to secure formal approval from Indian authorities to open a branch office of his immigration business.

“Over more than two years, Headley repeatedly met Rana in Chicago and described his surveillance activities on behalf of LeT, LeT’s responses to Headley’s activities, and LeT’s potential plans for attacking Mumbai,”the statement said.

“The attacks were among the most horrific and catastrophic in India’s history,”the statement said. It also noted that India’s proceedings pending against Rana are not the first proceedings in which he has been accused of conspiring to commit violent acts of terrorism.

In 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years in prison following his trial conviction in the Northern District of Illinois for conspiring to provide material support to LeT and to a foiled LeT-sponsored terrorist plot in Copenhagen, Denmark.

As part of those same criminal proceedings, Headley pleaded guilty to 12 federal terrorism charges, including aiding and abetting the murders of ix Americans in Mumbai and later planning to attack a Danish newspaper, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, the statement said.

In June 2020, the United States acted on a request for Rana’s extradition submitted by India, which Rana contested for almost five years. On May 16, 2023, a US Magistrate in the Central District of California certified Rana’s extradition to India.

Rana then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which the US District Court in the Central District of California rejected on August 10, 2023. On August 15, 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision. The Supreme Court similarly denied Rana’s ‘petition for certiorari’ on January 21, 2025.

The Secretary of State issued a warrant to order Rana’s surrender to Indian authorities. Both the District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court denied Rana’s applications for a stay on extradition. On April 7, the US Supreme Court finally rejected Rana’s application for a stay on his extradition.

On April 9, the US Marshals Service executed the Secretary’s surrender warrant by handing over Rana to Indian authorities for transportation to India, the statement said.  It also named US officials who handled the extradition litigation.

The US Marshals Service and attorneys and international affairs specialists in the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided support to this extradition, it added.

 The FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in New Delhi also assisted in the process, the statement said.