A suspect accused of facilitating the deadly Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 has been extradited by the United States to India, 17 years after the country was jolted by one of the worst tragedies to occur on its soil.
India accuses Rana of conspiring to carry out one of the country’s deadliest attacks, when 10 Pakistani men associated with the terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba killed more than 160 people during a four-day rampage through Mumbai that began on November 26, 2008.
That date is etched in the memory of the nation and is often referred to as India’s 9/11.
The attackers traveled to Mumbai by boat from the Pakistani port city of Karachi, hijacking a fishing trawler and killing its five crew members along the way. The men then docked at the waterfront near the iconic Gateway of India monument and split into at least three groups to carry out the attacks, according to police.
Using automatic weapons and grenades, they targeted the city’s largest train terminal, the luxury Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident hotels, the popular Leopold restaurant, a Jewish community center, and a hospital.
Nine of the 10 terrorists were killed by police during a cat-and-mouse chase across the city. The lone surviving gunman, Ajmal Kasab, was executed in 2012.
Rana, who lived in the US at the time, is accused by New Delhi of conspiring with the terrorists and proving them with information required to carry out their attack. He previously denied similar accusations in a US court.
India’s federal investigative agency has charged Rana with several crimes, including attempting to wage war, murder and forgery. If found guilty, the 64-year-old could face the death penalty.
On Thursday, the country’s National Investigation Agency confirmed Rana’s extradition, writing in a statement that he was sent to India after he exhausted all legal avenues to stay in the US.
In 2011, a US court acquitted Rana of conspiracy to provide material to support the Mumbai attackers, but he was found guilty of two other charges, including providing material support to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.
He was serving a 14-year sentence in a Los Angeles jail for those charges when his extradition was approved earlier this week.
India’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said the US Supreme Court had rejected Rana’s plea to stay his extradition, but did not answer further questions about the case.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the date of the Mumbai attacks.