Victim of 26/11 attack says Tahwwur Hussain Rana should be "hanged"

Rotawan said that she is happy with US Supreme Court decision and said that the conspirator Tahwwur Hussain Rana should be punished as soon as possible.

"Tahawwur Hussain Rana is being brought to India, I am very happy about this. I want him to be brought to India, so we can get all the information and he should be punished as soon as possible. Such terrorists should be hanged," Rotawan said.

"My father and I were called to the courtroom for the identification of terrorists. My father had seen both the terrorists and I had seen Kasab on the night of the attack. In the courtroom, I was asked to recognize Kasab. Even today my dream is to become an officer and eliminate terrorism," she added.

The father of victim Devika Natwarlal Rotawan demanded to hang Tahwwur Hussain Rana.

"When will you bring him in India? Kasab was hanged but we still did not get any peace because the mastermind is still alive. When mastermind will be hanged then we will get peace," he said.

The lawyer of accused Shahabuddin, Ejlaz Naqvi said, "In the chargesheet against Tahwwur it is stated that he was involved in the financial backing. He established covert project in Canada and backed Hedley as Hedley has said," he told ANI.

Pakistani origin businessman Tahawwur Hussain Rana who was convicted for his role in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai that resulted in the death of 164 people could now be extradited to India. Rana's co-conspirators included, among others, David Headley. Headley pleaded guilty and cooperated against Rana.

On January 21, The US Supreme Court denied a petition of writ of certiorari filed by Rana seeking to prevent his extradition to India. The writ was filed in November 2024 against an earlier order of a lower court that had ruled in favour of his extradition to India. A writ of certiorari is a legal document that allows a higher court to review a case from a lower court.

This could pave the way for his likely extradition to India. Rana was previously prosecuted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The second superseding indictment charged him with three counts. The jury convicted him on Count 11 (conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark). The jury also convicted Rana on Count 12 (providing material support to Lashkar-e Taiyba).

On January 7, 2013, the Northern District of Illinois court sentenced Rana to 168 months in prison. On June 10, 2020, a Magistrate Judge in the Central District of California (where Rana was serving his sentence) signed a provisional arrest warrant with a view to extraditing him to India to face charges there.

India's charges consist of conspiracy to commit various offences, including to wage war, to murder, to commit two forms of forgery, and to commit a terrorist act. Rana has remained in custody throughout the extradition process.

Rana opposed extradition but on May 16, 2023, the extradition magistrate judge rejected Rana's arguments and certified that he was extraditable. Rana then petitioned the United States District Court for the Central District of California for a writ of habeas corpus. On August 15, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the judgment of the habeas court. The court rejected each of Rana's arguments.

On Nov 13, 2024, Rana filed a writ of certiorari against that verdict in the Supreme Court which the court has now denied. (ANI)