The 26/11 Ghosts Rise Again: Rana’s Arrival, Saeed’s Demise, and the Buried Truth of ‘Saffron Terror’

Poonam Sharma

On April 10, 2025, Tahawwur Hussain Rana—prime co-conspirator in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks—set foot on Indian soil under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody, bringing to an end a 16-year extradition struggle. The Pakistani-Canadian’s arrival may finally throw light on one of the darkest and most manipulated pages of contemporary India. But as Rana arrives, another specter disappears—Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was assassinated in Pakistan mere days ago.Coincidence? Don’t think so.

Rana is no footnote—he facilitated David Headley’s recon missions that cased out the Taj Mahal Palace and other targets prior to the 2008 bloodbath. But the more incriminating possibility is this one: Rana might possess evidence of a plot to frame the attack as the handiwork of “Hindu extremists.” A plot that nearly succeeded in its malign intent.

The Terrorists in Hindu Disguise-The ten LeT militants who attacked Mumbai sported emblems of Hindu identity—shaved bodies, sacred tattoos, and red thread bracelets. The intention? Pin the blame on India’s own. If Ajmal Kasab hadn’t been caught alive, the scenario could have succeeded, instigating a countrywide witch hunt in the name of “saffron terror.” Instead, Kasab’s confession exposed Pakistan’s ISI and LeT as the actual culprits.Even then, a parallel version of events found fertile ground.

The Congress Cover-Up and Digvijaya’s Book Tour

Ex-Home Ministry official RVS Mani accused top Congress leaders of pressurizing him to change the course of the investigation. He says that evidence was tampered with to frame Hindu individuals such as Lt Col Prasad Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.At the helm of this diversion? Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh. Singh didn’t merely endorse the theory – he publicly launched journalist Aziz Burney’s contentious book “26/11: RSS Ki Saazish?” twice. The book hawked the claim that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had planned the attack, echoing Pakistani propaganda. Years after, Singh claims never to have blamed the RSS, but photographs and testimonies contradict him.

Was this a political maneuver? A diversion from Pakistan’s guilt? Or worse, a complicity in an ISI script?

 Bollywood’s Dubious Role-Glitz on the gaslight, Bollywood sensationalized the “Hindu terror” narrative nearly in parallel. Days after the attacks, a wave of celebrities started echoing the saffron line. Their echo of Congress’s party line raised eyebrows. Post-26/11 financial evidence showed a strange injection of funds to some producers—allegedly through Dubai-based hawala networks linked to ISI.

Who fed the actors these lines? Who paid the directors? Rana, with great ISI experience, may just be holding the script.

 The Mysterious Death of Hafiz Saeed

Then there is the most sinister fact: LeT leader Hafiz Saeed was assassinated near Jhelum, Pakistan only days before Rana’s extradition. Ambushed in a single Toyota pickup—a ridiculous slip for Pakistan’s most guarded terrorist—Saeed was on his way back from a private meeting with Lt Gen Nauman Zakaria, Mangla Corps Commander and ISI strategist.

Security was comically slack. Roads blocked, hospitals gagged, and no independent media permitted near the body. This was no elimination. This was a cleanup.Did the ISI silence Saeed before Rana could talk?

The Kamte Files and the Police Fiasco ,At the same time, in India, there are still unanswered questions regarding 26/11’s mismanagement by Mumbai Police. Where was Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor during those fateful first few hours? He abandoned his chair to ride in a PCR van while officers Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, and Vijay Salaskar sped into an ambush—all cramped into one vehicle, violating every standard procedure.

Vinita Kamte, Ashok Kamte’s widow, probed their killings in her explosive book *To the Last Bullet*. She accuses systemic failure—or worse. Gafoor’s actions, she claims, are illogical. Her access to headquarters was denied after her husband’s killing. Why? Was her inquiry endangering a cover-up related to the “Hindu terror” narrative?

Karkare, coincidentally, was investigating Malegaon—a case employed to construct the RSS terror narrative. His martyrdom, to most, no longer appears to be an accident.

 Congress–Pakistan Nexus?

Mani Shankar Aiyar, former diplomat, once invited Pakistan’s interference in Indian politics to stop Modi from ascending. After 26/11, the same murmurs of Congress conspiring with Pakistan for “political leverage” do not rest.

Amazingly, Shah Mahmood Qureshi—then Pakistan’s Foreign Minister—was in India on the day of the attack. Indian reprisals were strangely restrained. Did diplomacy silence the response? Rana might know if there were bargains.

And there’s Bhopal—RVS Mani has named as a “hindi terror” planning center. Was this where the domestic side of the operation was construed?

Why the U.S. Shielded Rana-The elephant in the room is: Why did the U.S. delay Rana’s extradition for more than a decade?Whistleblowers say the CIA had its own shortcomings to conceal—maybe even about Headley’s plans. Rana’s cover company operated unfettered. Was America protecting more than one man? His extradition only proceeded after 2025 policy changes and Indian intelligence pressure. Now that he’s here, the question isn’t merely what he’ll disclose—but whether he’ll survive to do so.

Rana’s return is more than a legal triumph—it’s a moment of reckoning. Saeed’s timely execution stinks of a muzzled witness. Denials by Digvijaya Singh sound unconvincing. Bollywood’s echo chamber no longer looks so innocent. And a courageous widow’s questions continue to holler for answers.The truth about 26/11 was never merely about Pakistan. It was also about who assisted in twisting the knife in India.

With Rana still alive, the truth has a chance.