NIA secures extradition of key LeT fugitive Salman Khan from Rwanda in Bengaluru terror case

In a significant breakthrough in the Bengaluru prison terror conspiracy case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) secured the extradition of key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) fugitive, Salman Khan, from Rwanda on Thursday.

Salman, who was a central figure in a terror radicalisation and recruitment case linked to Bengaluru Central Prison, was apprehended by the NIA with the help of the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Interpol and the National Central Bureau (NCB) on November 27. He was brought to India Thursday morning.

His extradition followed the issuance of a Red Notice by Interpol after the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him. Acting on the Red Notice, authorities in Kigali, Rwanda, apprehended Salman and upon being notified, the NIA facilitated his return to India.

The investigation, which had been registered by the NIA on October 25, 2023, after taking over from the Bengaluru city police, revealed Salman, who had previously been imprisoned in a POCSO case (2018–2022), was radicalised and recruited during his time in prison by T Naseer, a life convict in a terror case.

Naseer had masterminded the radicalisation process and orchestrated various criminal activities, including a plot to facilitate his escape while being transported to court, as well as a conspiracy to advance the operations of the proscribed terrorist group LeT. During this period, Salman played a key role in collecting and distributing explosives to other terror operatives.

Following the dismantling of the terror conspiracy module, Salman fled the country and was subsequently declared a fugitive. He was later chargesheeted by the NIA under several sections of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA(P) Act), the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

Salman is the 17th accused to be extradited or deported in major NIA cases since 2020. Previously, the NIA successfully secured the extradition of terrorists Tarsem Singh Sandhu and Bikramjit Singh from the UAE and Austria, respectively. Just last month, terrorist Baljeet Singh was deported from the UAE in connection with a KTF terror conspiracy. Other key terrorists, such as Vikramjit Singh Brar, Manpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh, Amrik Singh, Mandeep Singh and Ratheesh, were also deported in 2023 from the UAE and the Philippines as part of various terror-related investigations.

The NIA continues its concerted efforts, collaborating with international authorities, to bring fugitives to justice, wherever they may be hiding, in major terror and criminal cases.