NEW DELHI: Eknath Omble, whose brother Tukaram Omble received the Ashok Chakra for capturing 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab alive, described the extradition from the United States to India of Tahawwur Rana, accused of plotting the attacks, as a “big day” and urged the central government to hang Rana “as soon as possible.”
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Mumbai Police sub-inspector Tukaram Omble, who was awarded the Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award, for his bravery, sacrificed his life whilst securing Kasab’s arrest by grabbing the latter’s rifle on the night of the attacks. Kasab, the only 26/11 terrorist to be captured alive from a group of 10 gunmen, who were all killed by security forces, was tried, and, upon being convicted, executed in November 2012.
“Many innocent people and policemen were killed. It was a painful night. Tahawwur Rana was the closest ally of David Headley, who was the mastermind of the attack. They all should have been hanged earlier… But it’s a big day for the country. I have a request from the government that he (Rana) should be hanged as soon as possible,” Eknath Omble told ANI.
“He should be given such strict punishment that those in Pakistan who facilitate such things should think twice before committing such things. However, we tolerated the delay in Kasab’s punishment because it exposed the real face of Pakistan before the world,” Eknath Omble added.
On November 26, 2008, Tukaram Omble, armed with only a baton, confronted Kasab, enabling security forces to capture the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, though the sub-inspector lost his life in the process.
Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian national, is being brought to India after the United States Supreme Court rejected his appeal seeking a stay on his extradition. This was the final legal option for Rana to stop or delay his extradition. In February, US President Donald Trump announced his administration would extradite Rana to India to face justice there; the announcement was made in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in America on an official visit.
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Upon Rana’s arrival in Delhi, the anti-terrorism National Investigation Agency will take him into custody.
The Pakistani-Canadian doctor was found guilty in the US for supporting LeT operatives and providing assistance to the organisation responsible for the Mumbai attacks that resulted in 166 casualties.
