Devika Rotawan, a survivor of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, said on Thursday that the extradition of key accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana from the United States was a big win for India and demanded other conspirators holed up in Pakistan be also exposed and brought to book.
Rotawan, a key witness in the 26/11 case who identified terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab (the lone surviving attacker) in court during the trial, sought capital punishment for Rana (64).
At just nine years old, Rotawan was caught in the crossfire at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in south Mumbai, one of the sites attacked by terrorists on the night of November 26, 2008.
She was struck by a bullet in her leg. Her testimony was crucial in the trial of Kasab, who was later convicted by a Mumbai court for his role in the attacks and hanged in 2012.
Talking about Rana's extradition to India, Rotawan, now 25, said she was happy that India has got one of the conspirators of the terror strikes to face justice in the country.
"This is a big win for India, and I want to thank the Indian government for this achievement. With Rana being brought to India to face justice, it is the beginning of the end of terrorism in India, " Rotawan told PTI.
Indian security agencies should gather more information from Rana during his interrogation and expose all terror elements still holed up in Pakistan, she averred.
"Rana should get capital punishment, but elements that are still sponsoring terrorism from Pakistan and encouraging terror activities should also get strict punishment," the survivor asserted.
On November 26, 2008, Rotawan, along with her father and brother, was going to Pune and was sitting between platform numbers 12 and 13 waiting for the train when the crowded station came under attack.
Recalling the night of carnage, she said, "I saw a man (later identified as Kasab) with a big gun in his hand opening fire at passengers. I saw many dead bodies and injured passengers. I was just nine years old then. I did not know what was happening in the front of my eyes."
After sustaining injuries in the firing, Rotawan fell unconscious and was rushed to the nearby St George Hospital first and then to the state-run J J Hospital in central Mumbai where she had six surgeries on her leg.
"I saw Kasab firing at passengers, and my father saw both Kasab and Abu Ismail (another terrorist who was killed by security forces). On June 10, 2009, we went to the trial court, where we identified Kasab," she recalled.
Former director of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) General Yogesh Chander Modi also termed the extradition of Rana as a big achievement for the nation.
Modi told ANI, "This is a big achievement for the nation, MEA and NIA...In the matter of Tahawwur Rana, there was the political will of India as well as America, due to which the process was able to move forward...NIA provide foolproof evidence in the courts in America and our team visited America many times...Foolproof security systems are available in India...The Central government, Delhi Police and NIA will ensure that proper interrogation of Tahawwur Rana is carried out and collect evidence so that the case can be brought to its logical conclusion..."
Rana is a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of one of the main conspirators of the terror attacks, David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen.
More than 16 years ago, a group of 10 heavily armed Pakistani terrorists went on a rampage, carrying out a coordinated attack on the CSMT, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into India's financial capital using the sea route in the Arabian Sea.
As many as 166 persons, including US citizens, were killed in the nearly 60-hour terror assault.
-- with ANI updates
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