Court sends suspected LeT operative Bahadur Ali to judicial custody

New Delhi: A special court in Delhi on Wednesday sent Bahadur Ali alias Saifullah, a Pakistani national allegedly working for terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), to judicial custody till September 15, after the NIA said it did not require his further custodial interrogation.

According to court sources, Ali was produced before District Judge Amar Nath on expiry of his NIA remand, and during in-camera proceedings, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) moved an application seeking one month JC for the accused.

In a new twist to the ongoing turmoil in Kashmir, NIA had cited Ali's confessional video to claim that the ongoing unrest in the Valley was being orchestrated by Pakistan-based LeT which had played a major role in fuelling the unrest, triggered by the encounter killing of a militant leader.

Read: Pakistan denies its army trained LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali

The agency has claimed that since summer this year, the banned outfit, with the "help of Pakistani forces deployed on the border", pushed heavily armed terrorists into India with the direction to mix with local people, create disturbance and attack police and security forces.

NIA had earlier told the court that along with his associates, Ali had planned terror attacks to "destabilise the security and sovereignty" of India.

A fourth-class dropout, Ali, who hails from Jahama village of Raiwind in Lahore, was arrested from village Yahama in Mawar area of Qalamabad, Handwara, in North Kashmir on July 25. The army had claimed to have recovered three AK-47 rifles, two pistols and Indian Rs 23,000 from his possession.

According to NIA, Ali was trained at a Lashkar camp in PoK to carry out various activities, includig map reading and operating GPS devices.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had called Ali a "very good catch" and said his arrest will lead to more successes.