Tahawwur Rana, accused of masterminding the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is expected to arrive in India in a special plane on Thursday morning after he exhausted his legal options in the US, sources in the security establishment said on Wednesday.

Speculation was rife throughout the day that Rana, accompanied by multi-agency teams from India, was expected to arrive early on Thursday but there was no official word. On Wednesday evening, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval met Union home minister Amit Shah at his North Block office.

Sources said Doval and senior officials from the home ministry had been monitoring the extradition. “A multi-agency team from India is in the US and has completed all paperwork and legalities with the authorities there. There is a very high possibility that Rana could be extradited shortly to face trial for the 26/11 attacks,” said a security official in the Union home ministry.

Last month, a multi-agency team from India had visited the US to complete the paperwork with American authorities for Rana’s extradition days after his final attempt to block his extradition failed, with the US Supreme Court rejecting his plea.

Sources said the authorities in Delhi and Mumbai had been asked to discreetly prepare special jail arrangements in line with guidelines from the US judiciary concerning extradited individuals. Rana, 64, is likely to remain in the custody of the National Investigation Agency in the first weeks of his arrival and could later be handed over to Mumbai police.

He will face trial for several offences, including criminal conspiracy, waging war against India, forgery and murder. “There is a robust case against Rana, establishing his direct involvement in facilitating the 26/11 attacks and other terror plots,” said the NIA official.