Two high-ranking officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Ashish Batra and Jaya Roy, are leading the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, one of the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, from the United States.
Ashish Batra, a 1997-batch IPS officer belonging to the Jharkhand cadre, is the present Inspector General (IG) of NIA. Batra had joined the organisation in 2019 on a five-year deputation, which was extended by two years, until September 15, 2024, by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Before his stint with the NIA, Batra commanded anti-insurgency operations as IG of Jharkhand Jaguar and was the spokesperson of Jharkhand Police. His previous assignments include ASP in Jehanabad, SP in Koel Karo and Hazaribagh, and City SP in Ranchi. He was also part of the Governor’s security team for more than a year.
Jaya Roy, an IPS officer of the 2011 batch, is now Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the NIA. She was deputed to the agency in 2019 as SP and had her tenure extended. Roy became famous for spearheading the crackdown on cybercrime in Jamtara, a case that inspired a hit web series.
Tahawwur Rana Loses Extradition Appeal in US
The US Supreme Court has just rejected Rana’s extradition plea. The US Federal Bureau of Prisons authenticated that he is no longer being held at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center. An Indian investigation team took custody of the 64-year-old Pakistani-Canadian afterwards.
This is the first time Indian officials will directly question Tahawwur Rana, who is accused of helping 26/11 reconnaissance operations through his immigration consultancy company, assisting David Coleman Headley. When an NIA team questioned Headley in the US in 2010, Rana was not questioned.
Authorities are preparing to lodge Rana in Delhi’s Tihar Jail under Category S1, which is reserved for high-risk inmates. He is expected to be isolated from other prisoners for security reasons. Officials are considering Jails 2 and 4—the most secure wings of the facility—pending a final decision.
Rana Accused of Supporting Deadliest Terror Attack on Indian Soil
Rana was arrested in Chicago by the FBI on 18 October 2009 for giving material support to the terrorist plots to include the 26/11 Mumbai attacks as well as the planned attack on Copenhagen. The 26/11 attacks perpetrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives resulted in 166 deaths and are India’s worst terror raid.
Rana is suspected of assisting in planning attacks against other possible targets, such as the National Defence College and Chabad Houses in India. His interrogation in India has the potential to reveal greater involvement of Pakistani state agents.