26/11 Mumbai terror attacks survivor says Tahawwur Hussain Rana should be hanged

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After the United States (US) Supreme Court denied the petition of the conspirator behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, paving the way for his extradition to India, a survivor of the attack, Devika Natwarlal Rotawan, stated that he should be hanged.

According to news agency ANI, Rotawan expressed her satisfaction with the US Supreme Court's decision, adding that the conspirator, Tahawwur 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 recognise Kasab. Even today my dream is to become an officer and eliminate terrorism," she added.

Rotawan's father also demanded Rana's immediate execution, ANI reported.

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

164 people were killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks

Rana, a Pakistani-origin businessman, was convicted for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 164 people. His co-conspirators included, among others, David Headley, who pleaded guilty and cooperated against him, ANI reported.

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by Rana, seeking to prevent his extradition to India. The petition, filed in November 2024, challenged a lower court's earlier ruling in favour of his extradition. A writ of certiorari is a legal document allowing a higher court to review a case from a lower court.

This decision clears the way for Rana's likely extradition to India. He was previously prosecuted in the US 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) and Count 12 (providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba).

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 for his extradition to India.

India has charged Rana with conspiracy to commit various offences, including waging war, murder, two forms of forgery, and committing a terrorist act. He has remained in custody throughout the extradition process.

Despite opposing the extradition, Rana's arguments were rejected on May 16, 2023, when an extradition magistrate judge certified that he was extraditable. He subsequently petitioned the US District Court for the Central District of California for a writ of habeas corpus. On August 15, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the habeas court's judgment, rejecting all of Rana's arguments.

On November 13, 2024, Rana filed a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, which the court has now denied.

(With ANI inputs)