NIA Conducts Raids Across 7 States in Bengaluru Prison Radicalization Case

In January, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed charges against eight individuals in a case involving suspected terrorist activities. Among the accused was T Naseer from Kerala’s Kannur, currently serving a life sentence in Bengaluru Central Prison since 2013. Also implicated were Junaid Ahmed, known as “JD,” and Salman Khan, believed to have fled abroad.

The case originated from a Bengaluru City Police investigation on July 18 the previous year, triggered by the discovery of arms, ammunition, hand grenades, and walkie-talkies in the possession of seven suspects. These items were seized during a search of a residence connected to one of the accused.

According to NIA, which assumed control of the case in October, investigations revealed that Naseer, a figure linked to several previous blast incidents, had established contact with the other accused while they were incarcerated together in Bengaluru prison in 2017. Allegedly, Naseer orchestrated their transfer to his cell after assessing their susceptibility to radicalization, to recruit them into the banned terrorist outfit, LeT.

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Naseer purportedly succeeded in radicalizing and recruiting Ahmed and Khan, subsequently conspiring with Ahmed to further radicalize and recruit the remaining accused. Additionally, he allegedly collaborated with Khan to facilitate the delivery of weapons and communication devices to the others, to orchestrate a “fidayeen” (suicide) attack and aid Naseer’s escape from police custody while en route to court.

Ahmed allegedly instructed his associates to steal used police caps for the planned attack and to conduct trial arson attacks on government buses. The plot was thwarted with the seizure of the arms in July of the previous year.