New Delhi: A Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi on Friday sentenced two overground workers (OGWs) of the Pakistan-backed banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to 15 years’ imprisonment for providing shelter and logistical support to a Pakistani terrorist who had infiltrated into Kashmir in 2016.
According to an NIA statement, the convicted persons — Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazeer Ahmad Peer, both residents of Handwara in Kupwara district — were awarded 15 years’ rigorous imprisonment each under Sections 18 and 19 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, along with nine years under Section 39 of the same Act. The sentences will run concurrently, amounting to a maximum imprisonment of 15 years. Each accused has also been fined ₹50,000 under each section, totalling ₹1.5 lakh.
The case (RC-11/2016/NIA/DLI) relates to a larger LeT conspiracy in which a Pakistani national and trained terrorist, Bahadur Ali alias Saifullah, infiltrated into Indian territory in Kupwara district along with other militants in 2016. The group was heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, explosives, navigation and communication equipment, and night-vision devices.
The NIA said the infiltrating terrorists remained in constant contact with their handlers based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan, receiving instructions to carry out terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country, including Delhi. Their plans were foiled after Bahadur Ali was arrested on July 25, 2016, while two other infiltrators, Abu Saad and Abu Darda, were later killed in an encounter with security forces.
The agency had filed a chargesheet against Bahadur Ali in January 2017. After pleading guilty, he was convicted in March 2021 and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment under various provisions of the IPC, UA(P) Act, Explosives Act, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and Foreigners Act.
During further investigation, the role of the two Handwara residents emerged. The NIA found that they had provided safe shelter, food and logistical support to the Pakistani terrorist and facilitated his meetings with other militants in the Valley.
The duo was arrested in September 2017 and chargesheeted in March 2018. The court convicted them on December 18, 2025, and pronounced the sentence on Friday. The agency said the conviction deals a major setback to the overground worker network involved in harbouring foreign terrorists in Kashmir.
