Mumbai's Jal Vayu Vihar Was A 26/11 Target. How Tahawwur Rana Played A Role

Mumbai's Jal Vayu Vihar - a housing colony for Air Force and Navy veterans - was a target of the 26/11 terror attacks and Tahawwur Rana played a key role in it, an author claimed in a post on X.

Sandeep Unnithan, who wrote the book 'Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11', said that Rana, India's most wanted accused of plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks, had stayed at a hotel in Powai to recce the housing complex - a information revealed by Rana's childhood friend and a key accused in the case, David Coleman Headley in 2010.

"In 2010, two years after the horrific Mumbai #26/11 attacks, residents of Jal Vayu Vihar, a housing colony for Air Force and Navy veterans in Mumbai, had a surprise visitor at their doorstep: a Mumbai police SWAT team and an armoured vehicle. That vehicle remained at their gate there for nearly two years. I soon found out why," Mr Unnithan wrote. Click Here For Tahawwur Rana Extradition Live Updates

According to the author, his parents lived in the Air Force housing complex.

"But why JVV? Because many residents, including my father, were 1971 war veterans- one of them was in the Dhaka surrender ceremony photograph. Rana, an ex-Pak Army officer, told Headley he wanted to kill the veterans to avenge 1971," he said.

The attack on Jal Vayu Vihar was eventually ruled out as it was over 30 kilometers north of the terrorist drop site in South Mumbai's Cuffe Parade, Mr Unnithan said. "But over 160 other civilians were massacred by an attack blatantly conducted from across the border by the Pak Army's ISI and its terrorist proxies. We felt helpless rage. It was our sheep state vs the Pak deep state," he added.

As Tahawwur Rana has been extradited from the US and is on his way back to India to face the law, Mr Unnithan shared a picture of his father celebrating his 80th birthday at the same hotel in Powai where Rana had stayed.

"Times have changed. We're not a sheep state. Tahuwwur Rana is being bundled into a plane and being brought back to face trial in India. He will rot in jail. His deep state bosses in Pakistan are looking over their shoulders and under their beds. And my father? He celebrated his 80th birthday recently. He chose the same hotel in Powai that Rana lived in," he wrote.

In 2010, two years after the horrific Mumbai #26/11 attacks, residents of Jal Vayu Vihar, a housing colony for Air Force and Navy veterans in Mumbai, had a surprise visitor at their doorstep: a Mumbai police SWAT team and an armoured vehicle . That vehicle remained at their gate… pic.twitter.com/pUt9XlOAfq

— Sandeep (@SandeepUnnithan) April 10, 2025

A special flight carrying Rana departed from the US on Wednesday evening after he exhausted all legal avenues to stop his extradition, and will reportedly land in Delhi this afternoon. He will be arrested by the National Investigation Agency immediately. Rana is likely to be lodged in Tihar jail, reported news agency PTI.

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, had earlier worked as a doctor for the Pakistan Army. He is facing charges for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which over 160 people died. According to officials, he was aware of the terror attack and was in contact with the terrorist groups and their leaders in Pakistan.

Rana's involvement in the conspiracy behind the 26/11 attacks was revealed by Headley - who said he was in constant touch with Rana and even took his permission to open a business office in Mumbai as a front for his activities. During his interrogation in the US, Headley had revealed that he had travelled to India five times between 2007 and 2008 and done recce for the Mumbai attacks - using a five-year visa that Rana had helped him obtain. He also revealed the role of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the Mumbai attacks and said he had opened an immigration company to hide his identity with Rana's help.

To prepare for the attack, Rana had visited Mumbai with his wife and stayed at the Taj Mahal Hotel, which became a target of the attacks.