NIA gets 2nd non-bailable warrant against Hafiz Saeed in two months

The NIA told a Jammu court that Hafiz Saeed is in Pakistan and evading arrest in a Kashmir terror case. The fresh warrant underlines investigators' claim that cross-border handlers continue directing violence in the Valley.

In Short

• Investigation began after Mohammad Naqeeb Bhat was intercepted near Srinagar's Pandach area
• Officers recovered a China-made grenade and 15 live rounds from Bhat
• Probe uncovered a wider terror network involving LeT, TRF and Pakistanis

The National Investigation Agency has told a Special NIA Court in Jammu that Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, one of India’s most-wanted terrorists, is in Pakistan and has secured a second non-bailable warrant against him in two months.

The warrant was issued in a terror case linked to the supply of weapons, funds and directions to terror groups operating in the Union Territory.

The case is linked to the arrest of Mohammad Naqeeb Bhat during a check at Pandach on the outskirts of Srinagar earlier this year.

The subsequent investigation, according to the agency, led to the unearthing of a terror network and the arrest of several more terrorists linked to LeT and its offshoot The Resistance Front, along with two Pakistani nationals.

The court was hearing an application filed by the NIA seeking a non-bailable warrant against Saeed, a designated terrorist, under Section 75 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. In its application, the agency described Saeed, a resident of Sargodha in Punjab, Pakistan, as an absconding accused in the case.

A China-made grenade and 15 live rounds were recovered from Bhat, a resident of Batpora. He was booked at Zakoora Police Station under the UAPA, the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

The NIA said Saeed’s role came to light during the investigation, with the arrested Pakistani terrorists allegedly found to be associated with him.

“Saeed is operating from Pakistan and providing weapons, money and directions to terrorists operating in the Kashmir Valley. The information is gathered that the said terrorist at present is in Pakistan and deliberately evading his arrest to escape the clutches of law,” the agency told the court.

After hearing the agency, Special Judge under the NIA Act Prem Sagar, on September 8, observed that Saeed’s involvement had surfaced during the investigation and that he was “allegedly involved in terrorism”.

The court noted that he was at large and that the investigating agency had not been able to secure his attendance “in the ordinary manner”, and issued a general non-bailable warrant against him.

This is the second non-bailable warrant issued against the LeT founder by the Special NIA Court in Jammu in two months. On July 8, the court had issued the first warrant against Saeed in connection with last April’s Pahalgam terror attack, in which 25 tourists and a local resident were killed.

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