New Delhi, Apr 10 (PTI) The CGO complex area, which houses several government offices, outside the NIA headquarters was abuzz with activity on Thursday evening as mediapersons made a beeline to report on the extradition of key Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana from the US amid tight security.

The roads outside and around the National Investigation Agency (NIA) office wore a deserted look, as security personnel cordoned off the entire area and restricted any kind of vehicular movement.

Entry and exit from Gate No. 2 of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Metro station near the NIA office was also barred.

There was a strong presence of Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the area to keep any untoward incident at bay.

A dog squad carried out a thorough check of the NIA premises soon after a special aircraft carrying Rana landed in Delhi on Thursday evening.

Television journalists were present in large numbers in the area, reporting “Live” amid tight security, despite Thursday being a Central government holiday on account of Mahavir Jayanti .

The NIA on Thursday evening formally arrested Rana, immediately after he landed at the Delhi airport following his successful extradition from the US.

Teams of National Security Guard (NSG) and NIA, comprising senior officials, escorted Rana to Delhi on a special aircraft from Los Angeles.

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin living primarily in Chicago, was arrested soon after he came out of the aeroplane, after completing the necessary legal formalities, the NIA said in a statement.

The NIA secured Rana’s extradition following years of sustained and concerted efforts, and after the terror mastermind’s last-ditch attempts to get a stay on his extradition from the US failed.

Rana was held in judicial custody in the US, pursuant to the proceedings initiated by the NIA under the India-US Extradition Treaty.

Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI), along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the devastating terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008.

A total of 166 persons were killed and over 238 injured in the deadly attacks that lasted for nearly 60 hours. PTI AKV ARI