A former businessman Tahawwur Rana, from Chicago will remain in the United States custody as a federal judge in Los Angeles weighs whether he will be extradited to India for his alleged role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that killed more than 160 people.
The in-person extradition hearing of Tahawwur Rana, at the request of the Indian government, was held in the court of magistrate judge Jacqueline Chooljian in Los Angeles. Chooljian on Thursday ordered the defense attorneys and prosecutors to file additional documents by July 15.
Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian, is wanted by Indian authorities for his alleged involvement in the deadly attacks that are sometimes referred to as India’s 9/11. An Indian warrant for his arrest was issued in August 2018.
Indian authorities allege that Rana conspired with his childhood friend David Coleman Headley to assist the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Headley and Rana went to the same Pakistani military high school. Prosecutors claim that between 2006 and 2008, Rana’s immigration law centre in Chicago, as well as a satellite office in Mumbai, was utilised as a front for their terrorism activities.
Rana’s lawyers claimed that their client was unaware of Headley’s terrorism plot and was only attempting to assist a boyhood buddy by establishing a Mumbai business office.
They further said that Headley is a serial liar who has fooled the US government in various criminal cases, and that his testimony should not be trusted.
The attorneys alleged that Headley had used Rana to further his terrorism efforts without Rana’s knowledge.
Rana’s two daughters attended the hearing. They declined to comment, as did his lawyers.
