By Chandrashekar Bhat
A FEDERAL US court will on Thursday (24) hold an in-person extradition hearing of businessman Tahawwur Rana, who is wanted in India for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Rana, 59, a Pakistani Canadian, was arrested in Los Angeles on June 10, 2020, on an extradition request by India which declared him a fugitive.
Rana is a childhood friend of David Coleman Headley, the prime accused in the November 2008 terror attack in which 166 people, including six US citizens, were killed.
Headley, 60, was made an approver in the case and is currently serving a 35-year prison term in the US for his role in the attack.
Rana has opposed his extradition to India, arguing that he has already been convicted by a US court in Chicago.
As the Indian government requested Rana's extradition, the US has initiated the proceeding, saying the case meets all the criteria.
In a previous court submission on February 4, Rana's attorney argued his extradition is barred under the United States-India extradition treaty because he had previously been acquitted of the offences for which his extradition is sought.
A team of officials from India is said to be in the US ahead of the court proceedings.
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