Kriti Agrawal –
On Thursday, a Federal US Court will hold an in-person extradition hearing for Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, who is wanted in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
A delegation of Indian officials is expected to arrive in the United States for the hearings, which will take place in a federal court in Los Angeles.
In an order issued on April 5, US District Court Judge Jacqueline Chooljian in Los Angeles moved the in-person extradition hearing of Rana to India from April 22 to June 24.
The US government has made a statement in support of the United States Surrebuttal in Support of its Request for Certification of Extradition in various submissions to the Court.
Rana is wanted in India for his role in the terrorist attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
Rana, a boyhood friend of primary convict David Coleman Headley, was re-arrested in Los Angeles on June 10, 2020, after India requested his extradition for his role in the Mumbai terror assault, which killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Headley, 60, was appointed as an approver in the case and is serving a 35-year sentence in the United States for his role in the attack. Rana has argued that he has already been convicted by a US Court in Chicago and hence should not be extradited to India.
The US government claims that Rana’s premise is erroneous because the Indian substantive accusations are not incorporated as minor included offences in their conspiracy allegations.
The Indian government has requested Rana’s official extradition under the India-US Extradition Treaty, and the United States has begun the extradition process. Rana, according to the US authorities, fits all of the criteria for certification of his extradition to India.
The Court has both personal and subject matter jurisdiction, the United States and India have an extradition treaty in full force and effect, and the crimes for which Rana’s extradition is sought are covered by the treaty’s stipulations.