Tahawwur Rana, wanted in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, to remain in US custody

Tahawwur Rana, a former Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman, wanted in India for his alleged involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, will remain in US custody. This comes after a federal judge in Los Angeles weighed whether he will be extradited, The Associated Press reported. 

Judge Jacqueline Chooljian of the magistrate court in Los Angeles has asked the defense attorneys and prosecutors to file additional documents by July 15. 

The in-person extradition hearing was held at the request of the Indian government, which has alleged that Rana conspired to assist Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba with this childhood friend David Coleman Headley in the orchestration of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. The attack killed 166 people and injured more than 200. 

The Indian government said that Rana’s law centre in Chicago and a satellite office in Mumbai were used as a front for their terror activities from 2006 to 2008, the AP reported. 

The former businessman was not aware of David Headley’s terror plot, Tahawwur Rana’s attorneys said, adding that he was only trying to help his friend set up a business office in Mumbai. They alleged that 60-year-old David Headley used Rana, without his knowledge, to further his terrorism efforts.  

Headley, who has been made an approver in the case, is serving a 35-year prison term in the US for his role in the Mumbai attack.

Arguing that he has already been convicted by a US court in Chicago, Rana has opposed his extradition while American prosecutors have failed to prove the former businessman’s direct involvement in the 26/11 attack.