NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday brought back Lashker-e-Taiba fugitive Salman Khan, an accused in the Bengaluru prison terror conspiracy case, from Rwanda after securing his extradition from there.
Part of a terror radicalisation and recruitment racket that originated in the Bengaluru Central prison, Salman was taken into custody by NIA on Wednesday, with the assistance of CBI’s Global Operations Centre, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) and Interpol’s National Central Bureau — Kigali, and brought to India on Thursday morning.
An NIA spokesperson said Salman, who was earlier imprisoned in a POCSO case in Bengaluru Central prison, had facilitated the collection and distribution of explosives for other terror accused after he was radicalised and recruited by fellow inmate and LeT mastermind behind the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts, T Naseer.
Naseer had orchestrated the radicalization and subsequent criminal activities, including plans to facilitate his own escape enroute to the court from the prison and a conspiracy to further the terror operations of LeT.
Salman had absconded and fled the country after the terror conspiracy/module was busted, and was declared a fugitive. He was subsequently chargesheeted by NIA under IPC, UA(P) Act, Arms Act, and Explosive Substances Act.
A red-corner notice was opened by Interpol against Salman after the NIA Special Court, Bengaluru, issued a non-bailable warrant against him. Based on the Interpol notice, he was apprehended by authorities in Kigali, Rwanda, and NIA informed about the arrest, eventually leading to his extradition and return to India.
Salman is the 17th fugitive accused to be extradited or deported in prominent NIA cases since 2020. Other accused brought back in similar global collaborations include Tarsem Singh Sandhu, extradited from UAE and Bikramjit Singh (from Austria). Just last month, terrorist Baljeet Singh was deported from UAE in a Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) terror conspiracy; and Vikramjit Singh Brar, Manpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh, Amrik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Ratheesh, were deported from UAE and the Philippines in 2023.