'India Deserved It': What Tahawwur Rana Told David Headley Post 26/11 Mumbai Attack

The details of the conversation between Rana and Headley were intercepted by the United States and were shared by the US Department of Justice in a statement on April 10 following Rana's extradition.

26/11 Mumbai terror attack plotter Tahawwur Rana was extradited to India from the US on Thursday, following which he was arrested by the NIA.

Source : PTI

Tahawwur Rana, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused who has been extradited to India from US, allegedly told his childhood friend and co-conspirator David Coleman Headley after the attacks that "India deserved it". He also commended the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) terrorists for carrying out the attack, saying that they deserved Pakistan's highest award for gallantry in battle, 'Nishan-e-Haider' for it.

The details regarding the conversation between Rana and Headley were intercepted by the United States back then and were shared by the US Department of Justice in a statement on April 10 following Rana's extradition.

"After the attacks were complete, Rana allegedly told Headley that the Indians “deserved it.” In an intercepted conversation with Headley, Rana allegedly commended the nine LeT terrorists who had been killed committing the attacks, saying that “[t]hey should be given Nishan-e-Haider”—Pakistan’s “highest award for gallantry in battle,” which is reserved for fallen soldiers," the statement read.

Rana Extradited To India From US

Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, was extradited to India from the US, where he had been in custody since 2020. He recently exhausted all his legal avenues after the US Supreme Court rejected all his appeals against the extradition.

He landed in Delhi on Thursday evening on a special flight from Los Angeles, escorted by National Investigation Agency officials anf US Marshals Service. He was immediately arrested by the NIA upon his arrival and presented before a special NIA court, which sent him to an 18-day custody for interrogation.

“Rana, 64, is charged in India with numerous offenses, including conspiracy, murder, commission of a terrorist act, and forgery, related to his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks committed by Laskhar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), a designated foreign terrorist organization," the US statement further stated.

Rana Helped Headley To Obtain Indian Visa

Rana is accused of conspiring with Headley and other operatives of designated terrorist organisations Laskhar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI), and other Pakistan-based co-conspirators to plan the Mumbai terror attack in 2008. He allegedly helped Headley obtain Indian visa so he could conduct surveillance ahead of potential attacks.

“India alleges that Rana facilitated a fraudulent cover so that his childhood friend David Coleman Headley (Headley), a U.S. citizen born Daood Gilani, could freely travel to Mumbai for the purpose of conducting surveillance of potential attack sites for LeT," the document further stated.

The US document also said that Rana had allegedly agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business and appoint Headley as the manager of the office, despite his inexperience in immigration. 

"On two separate occasions, Rana allegedly helped Headley prepare and submit visa applications to Indian authorities that contained information Rana knew to be false. Rana also allegedly supplied, through his unsuspecting business partner, documentation in support of Headley’s attempt to secure formal approval from Indian authorities to open a branch office of Rana’s business," it said.

As many as 166 persons, including six Americans, were killed and over 238 were injured between November 26 and 29, 2008, when ten LeT terrorists carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai. They had infiltrated the city by sea and then broke into teams, dispersing to multiple locations, including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and a Jewish community center. 

“When the terror finally subsided, 166 victims, including six Americans, were dead, along with all but one of the LeT terrorists. Hundreds more were injured, and Mumbai sustained more than $1.5 billion in property damage. The attacks were among the most horrific and catastrophic in India’s history," the US document noted.