Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Salman Rehman Khan has been extradited by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Rwanda on Thursday.


Salman was implicated in the Bengaluru Prisons Terror Conspiracy case, where investigations revealed his involvement in radicalisation and the supply of explosives to terror operatives. 


He was arrested in Rwanda's capital Kigali on Wednesday with the collaboration of different agencies, including Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Interpol, and National Central Bureaus (NCBs).


The LeT terrorist's arrest is the 17th instance since 2020 where the NIA has successfully facilitated the extradition or deportation of terror-related fugitives.


The anti-terror agency said that Salman was radicalised in Bengaluru Central Prison, where he came into contact with a terror convict serving a life sentence. Salman was lodged in Bengaluru jail where he was serving a sentence for a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) conviction between 2018 and 2022.


During his jail term, he came into contact with T Naseer, convicted in life sentence, who radicalised Salman and orchestrated a terror module in the prison. 


The investigation revealed that Naseer played a role in radicalising Salman and orchestrating a terror module within the prison walls. Salman then became an active participant in terror activities. 


The NIA alleged that he procured and distributed arms, ammunition, and explosives for terror operatives. 


When the terror module was busted, Khan managed to give agencies a slip and escaped from the country. NIA chargesheeted him in stringent anti-terror law and Indian Penal Code and court declared him a fugitive. 


The CBI on request of the NIA had got a Red Notice issued against the subject from Interpol in August this year. Based on the Red Notice, he was apprehended by authorities in Kigali, Rwanda. 


The information was passed on to the CBI which is the designated agency for coordination of Interpol affairs in India and the NIA. After legal proceedings, he was extradited to India.  


He was returned to India on 28.11.2024 by a security team from NIA, the CBI statement said. The return of Khan comes soon after similar operations in coordination with Interpol wherein two accused -- one wanted by the CBI and another by the Kerala Police -- were brought back from Saudi Arabia.