US backs India’s demand to extradite 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana

India’s demand to extradite alleged 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks conspirator Tahawwur Rana was once again backed by the Joe Biden administration in a fresh submission before a United States court on Monday.

US District Court Judge in Los Angeles, Jacqueline Chooljian, yesterday received the latest set of submissions from the US government attorney, and has scheduled an in-person extradition hearing of the Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman to India on June 24.

Assistant US Attorney John J Lulejian in his submission made a declaration in support of the ‘United States’ Surrebuttal in Support of its Request for Certification of Extradition’, and reiterated that the 59-year-old’s extradition to India is in accordance with the India-US extradition treaty.

“As per the Treaty, the Indian government has requested the formal extradition of Rana, and the United States has initiated this extradition proceeding. The US government has said that Rana meets all the criteria warranting certification of his extradition to India,” news agency PTI reported.

The criteria are – the court has both personal and subject matter jurisdiction, there is an extradition treaty between the US and India that is in full force and effect, and the crimes for which Rana’s extradition is sought are covered by the terms of the Treaty.

“The United States respectfully requests the certification of Rana’s extradition to India for the Secretary of State’s decision on his surrender. The extradition request contains sufficient evidence to establish probable cause, and Rana has not pointed to any evidence in the record that obliterates India’s presentation of probable cause,” Lulejian said.

He claimed that Rana relies on a statement made during (David Coleman) Headley’s plea hearing, and that his statement “is ambiguous at best”.

Rana, a childhood friend of Headley, was arrested again on June 10 in Los Angeles on an extradition request put in by India for his involvement in the dastardly terror attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans. He was declared a fugitive by India.

Headley, a Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, was a key conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, and is currently serving a 35-year prison term in the US.