Tahawwur Hussain Rana, one of the key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has finally been extradited to India from the United States.
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00:00Tahawwar Hussain Rana, a name you've probably heard a million times by now.
00:04He masterminded the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
00:06Extradited from the US, he made his way to India on 10th April 2025.
00:11Rana has had many faces.
00:12First an army doctor, then a businessman, and finally India's public enemy number one.
00:17So, as India awaited a moment long in the making,
00:20let's tell you who Tahawwar Hussain Rana really is.
00:30On 26th November 2008, 10 gunmen landed on the shores of Mumbai.
00:38They stomped CST, the Taj Hotel, the Oberoi Trident, Leopold Cafe, Kama Hospital, the Metro Cinema, and Nariman House.
00:45Killing 174 people over four days.
00:49We were having dinner in the restaurant, the Indian restaurant, and there was gunshots.
00:54And so we ran into the kitchen, and then two gunmen.
01:00chased us up the stairs.
01:03But how did they manage this?
01:05That's where Tahawwar Hussain Rana enters the picture.
01:08Let's rewind to Pakistan.
01:10A young Rana was studying at Hassan Abdul Kadir College.
01:13There, he met American-born David Hedley, aka Daud Kilani.
01:17The two were close until Hedley moved to the US with his mother.
01:20Still, they stayed in touch.
01:22Rana joined the Pakistan army as a doctor, served for years,
01:25then moved to Canada in 1997 due to a medical condition.
01:28There, he reconnected with Hedley.
01:30Now handpicked by Lashkar-e-Tawibad chief Hafiz Saeed to scout targets in Indian cities.
01:34Saeed also directed him towards Tahawwar Rana to use his contacts for travelling.
01:38Hedley turned to his old friend for help.
01:41Rana, a Canadian passport holder running a travel consultancy and a Chicago butchery,
01:45was well placed to assist Hedley with logistics.
01:48US authorities even noted that Hedley offered to help Rana clear his deserter status from the Pakistani army.
01:53This marked the beginning of a path leading Rana to an extradition flight to India.
01:58Since his arrest, Rana claims he was just a pawn.
02:00However, authorities believe his involvement was active, possibly even as Hedley's handler.
02:05India today accessed court records which revealed the NIA's case against Tahawwar Rana in relation to the Mumbai attacks of 2611.
02:12It revealed that Rana provided logistical, financial and other assistance to David Coleman Hedley.
02:17He, along with Hedley, Abdul Rahman Hashim Saeed and Elias Kashmiri had also planned future attacks in India.
02:23He even got Hedley a visa by supplying wrong information to the Indian consulate in Chicago.
02:27The duo then started an immigrant law centre in Mumbai to act as a cover for future operations.
02:32Upon arriving in India on 14th September 2006, Hedley was received at the airport by a contact of Tahawwar Rana who would arrange lodging and conveyance for Hedley.
02:41During his stay in Mumbai, Hedley was in constant contact with Rana.
02:44During his first visit, Hedley contacted Tahawwar Rana more than 32 times, 23 times during his second visit, 40 times during his third one and so on.
02:53Tahawwar Rana, along with his wife, came to India just days before the attack between 13th and 21st November 2008.
02:58He visited many Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Harpur, Cochin, Ahmedabad, among others.
03:03So any level-headed person, aware of these facts, will never believe that Tahawwar Hussain Rana was a pawn in the hands of David Coleman Hedley.
03:11He was actively involved in the entire process and even went out of his way to make arrangements.
03:15Though it is unfortunate that Rana was never convicted for these crimes.
03:19An American court acquitted him of charges on the Mumbai 2611 attacks.
03:23He was convicted in the US for his links with the L.E.T. and for hatching a terror plot in Denmark.
03:27He was convicted in 2018 and was serving time at the Metropolitan Detention Centre.
03:33India's diplomatic efforts paid off though.
03:35The two nations have an extradition treaty and the US agreed to extradite Rana in February 2025.
03:40Now that he's on his way back to the country he wronged the most, justice will be swift and fair.