INDIA. Mumbai: The crime branch of the Mumbai Police has filed a 405-page supplementary chargesheet in a Special Court, bringing new charges against Tahawwur Rana, who is allegedly connected to the November 26, 2008, Mumbai Terror attacks that claimed 166 lives and injured over 300 people.
Rana, a 62-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman and former doctor in the Pakistan Army, is currently detained in the United States.
Rana’s arrest in Chicago on October 18, 2009, was based on accusations of facilitating the attacks by assisting another accused, David Coleman Headley, in obtaining a fake visa to travel to Pakistan. On June 9, 2011, Rana was also found guilty of providing material support to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (Le-T).
David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American terrorist, was arrested in Chicago on October 3, 2009. On March 18, 2010, he pleaded guilty and was subsequently sentenced to 35 years in prison on January 24, 2013.
In exchange for detailed testimony regarding Le-T and the attacks, Headley was granted a pardon on December 10, 2020, by a Special Court in Mumbai.
The fresh charges filed against Rana include an offense under section 39 A (relating to support given to a terrorist organization) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, based on emails he sent to Headley. Headley had visited Mumbai eight times between 2006 and 2008, conducting reconnaissance of specific areas in the city.
Rana arrived in Mumbai two weeks before the 26/11 attacks and resided in a hotel in Powai, North East Mumbai, from November 11 to November 21, 2008.
During this period, he was in contact with Headley through emails and other means of communication, seeking his directions regarding the attack, according to police officials.
Rana, who had deserted the Pakistani Army, obtained Canadian citizenship in 2001. He later moved to Chicago and established various businesses, some of which were allegedly used as cover for terror-related activities.
During the attacks between November 26 and November 29, 2008, ten Le-T terrorists from Pakistan arrived by sea, hijacking a ship owned by Indian fishermen and killing them en route.
They entered South Mumbai from the Cuffe Parade area and laid siege for over 60 hours, targeting multiple sites, including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Railway Station, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, Nariman House, and the Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace hotels.
In a heroic rescue operation led by the Mumbai Police, National Security Guards, the Marine Commandos of the Mumbai Navy, and other agencies, nine terrorists were killed.
The lone surviving terrorist, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was apprehended by police officer Tukaram Omble, who sacrificed his own life in the process. Kasab was put on trial and sentenced to death by a special court.
Following the rejection of his appeals by the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court, Kasab was executed by hanging at Pune’s Yerawada Central Prison in Maharashtra on November 21, 2012.
Also Read: NIA Confiscates Properties of Canada-based Khalistani Terrorist Pannu in Chandigarh and Amritsar
