The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks co-conspirator Tahawwur Rana was shackled when he was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Los Angeles, a US Department of Justice (DoJ) photo of the handover showed.
The shackles appear to have been removed when a special plane carrying Rana landed in Delhi on Thursday, as seen in the photo the NIA released.
The DoJ, which released two photos of the handover with a statement on Thursday, called Rana’s extradition “a critical step toward seeking justice for the six Americans and scores of other victims who were killed in the heinous attacks”. One of the photos showed a chained Rana being handed over to the Indian team.
The DoJ statement said the US Marshals Service executed a warrant by surrendering Rana to Indian authorities for transportation to India. “Rana’s extradition is now complete.”
The statement said convicted terrorist Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, was extradited to stand trial in India on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
Rana, a former Pakistan Army captain, was on Thursday sent in 18-day NIA custody for interrogation on the Mumbai attacks conspiracy, handlers based in Pakistan, reconnaissance missions his friend David Coleman Headley and others undertook before the attacks, officials familiar with the matter said.
