According to former Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai, suspected Mumbai terror attack perpetrator Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who is being extradited to India from the United States, will undoubtedly be found guilty in India of his role in the heinous terrorist deed and may even face the death penalty. He said that David Colemon Headley, a key figure in the 26/11 attacks, was an associate of Rana.
"Rana established his company's immigration office in Mumbai, where David Headley was hired and subsequently granted a visa to enter India. Rana supplied the cover for Headley. Because of their tight relationship, he and Headley were aware of what was going on. Thus, it is what Headley had told him and what his interrogation in India will reveal," Pillai told PTI Videos.
He claimed that Rana was not the one who surveyed the Taj hotel and other potential terrorist landing sites.
"David Headley did all of it. He was the one who traveled to India, then to Pakistan, where he gave all the information to Pakistani terrorists. Pillai, who became home secretary just six months after the biggest terror attack, stated, "But as a co-conspirator, Rana will definitely get convicted in India and possibly (get) a death sentence or 10 years or more."
He said that the National inquiry Agency's (NIA) inquiry has previously proved a connection between Pakistan and the 26/11 terror strikes, adding that "we had the other accused who were there in Pakistan against whom warrants have been issued but not executed by Pakistan."
"So, with some assistance from Pakistan, that connection was first made extremely evident. However, since then, Pakistan has been obstructing the entire inquiry. The former home secretary stated, "They did not give them to us for trial in India, nor did they try them (the accused) in Pakistan either."
According to R K Singh, a former Union minister and home secretary, Rana's extradition is a significant victory for the nation.
According to him, the extradition serves as a warning to other terrorists that "attacking a country doesn't mean you can stay in any other country."
"You will be held accountable in the country where you committed acts of terrorism. Such a warning to terrorists is crucial," Singh stated.
According to him, Rana's testimony will be useful in obtaining information that Indian authorities are unaware of.
"We might obtain more information in order to apprehend or identify more individuals who are in Pakistan. The deep state of Pakistan carried out all of the attack's planning and conceptualization. Deep state, such as the Pakistani spy agency ISI, the Army, etc. They all organized it, provided training, armed the participants, and launched them.
"They provided guidance from there while the attack was underway. It used to provide minute-by-minute instructions on what needed to be done. We all know who was involved. Singh, a current BJP politician, said that they were LeT people.
Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian national of Pakistani descent, was taken to a Los Angeles metropolitan prison facility. He has been linked to Headley, a Pakistani-American terrorist who was a key conspirator in the 26/11 attacks.
Singh claimed that the nation should concentrate on another matter, namely the fact that Headley and Rana were consistently granted visas to enter India.
"The fact that Tahawwur Rana visited India so frequently is another matter on which we must concentrate. Headley made numerous trips to India. How did they consistently obtain the visa? We'll need to examine it. Who made it possible, whether his supporters or ISI agents are present or not? This must be discovered. Did Headley and Rana have a local connection here? This must be discovered. This information would be obtained through his extradition and questioning," Singh stated.
In Patna, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai stated that a close watch has been maintained on those who betray the country since Narendra Modi took office as prime minister.
"Terrorism has all but disappeared from India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the direction of Home Minister Amit Shah. Over the past 14 years, significant action has been taken against the traitors. Rai declared, "No one has been spared."
