Tahawwur Rana, a key conspirator of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks had demanded a top medal for his role in the strikes, India Today reports.
The US government has informed a federal court that Rana also wanted the nine Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who died to be awarded Pakistan’s highest military honour, the Nishan-e-Haider.
This admission means of clear involvement of the banned Islamic terror group LeT and the Pakistani military and its notorious intelligence agency, the Inter-Service Intelligence.
India has been chasing for Rana’s extradition for a very long time to seek answers. Jacqueline Chelonian, a US District Court Judge in Los Angeles, announced that a hearing will take place on 12 February 2021.
“Referring to a 1971 attack on his school in Pakistan, (David) Headley told Rana, that he believed he was ‘even with the Indians now’. In response, Rana said that they (the Indian people) deserved it. Also, in September 2009, the FBI intercepted Rana telling Headley that the nine LeT attackers who had been killed during the attacks should be given Pakistan’s highest military honour,” said US attorney Nicola T Hanna, who made submissions to a court in Los Angeles supporting Rana’s extradition to India.
As per details that are emerging and also long suspected by India, Rana had allowed Headley to use his business as a cover to conduct surveillance so the LeT terrorist attacks in Mumbai and also other parts of the country.
Rana ran an immigration service business and Headley had travelled to India in 2006 on the pretext to open operation of Rana’s business.
However, it was a cover for an extended stay in Mumbai that allowed Headley do comprehensive video surveillance of different places including the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.