Rana might get help from terror groups to flee: Prosecutors

CHICAGO: Indicted for conspiracy in the Mumbai attack, Pakistani Canadian Tahawwaur Rana might get financial assistance from "dangerous terrorist organisations" to flee the country if released on bond, federal prosecutors seeking his detention have argued.

With Rana being named as a conspirator, he also faces a harsher jail sentence of life imprisonment in the new chargesheet filed against him, they said.

In a 33-page government response to the motion filed by Rana seeking revocation of his detention order, prosecutors have said his "casual speculation" that it would be easy to extradite him if he fled US and was ever caught again "should be more unsettling than reassuring to the court, considering his ties to terrorist organisations".

The response was filed by prosecutors Daniel Collins and Victoria Peters on Jan 15, a day after Rana and co-accused David Headley were indicted by a grand jury on 12 counts of being involved in conspiracy to target Mumbai and Denmark.

It said in light of the superseding indictment returned against Rana, he now faces additional charges which are "actually much more serious than those he originally faced".

Rana was denied bail by Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan who said if released on bond, he could flee the country to escape a possible 30 year prison term.

However, now charged with supporting the conspiracies to commit murder and to bomb places of public use in India, "the maximum term of imprisonment now faced by Rana is life, giving him heightened incentive" to flee the country.