New Delhi [India], February 14 (ANI): The Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday sentenced two overground workers (OGWs) of the Pakistan Army-backed banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to a maximum of 15 years' imprisonment.

The convicts were found guilty of providing shelter, food, and logistic support to a heavily armed Pakistani terrorist who had infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 with the intent to carry out terror activities in the Valley.

The NIA court noted that the OGWs played a crucial role in aiding the terrorist and his associates, facilitating their movement and operations.

According to the release, the residents of Handwara in Kupwara district of Kashmir, the two accused, identified as Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmad Peer, have been convicted and sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment each under Section 18 and Section 19 of the UA(P) Act, and another nine years under Section 39 of the same legislation.

The sentences will run concurrently, upto the maximum of 15 years. The two men have also been fined Rs. 50,000 under each of these sections, totalling a fine of Rs. 1,50,000 for each accused.

The case relates to a larger LeT conspiracy, under which a man named Bahadur Ali, also known as Saifullah, a Pakistani national and trained terrorist, had infiltrated into the Indian territory in District Kupwara, Jammu & Kashmir, along with other terrorists. The heavily armed group of terrorists was equipped with sophisticated arms and ammunition, explosives, navigation devices, night vision devices, and communication equipment.

While they were in the Indian territory, the group of terrorists had remained in constant contact with their LeT handlers based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan. The terrorists were continuously receiving instructions and directions for carrying out terrorist activities within India. They had planned to carry out a series of terror attacks in J&K and other parts of India, including Delhi. Their plans were, however, foiled as Bahadur Ali was arrested on July 25, 2016, while two other infiltrating terrorists, namely Abu Saad and Abu Darda, were killed in an encounter by security forces later.

NIA had filed a chargesheet against the accused, Bahadur Ali, in January 2017. After pleading guilty, Bahadur Ali was convicted in March 2021 and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment under various provisions of the IPC, the UA (P) Act, the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act, the Arms Act, and the Foreigners Act.

It was during the course of further investigation that the role of Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmad Peer emerged, and NIA found that they had provided safe shelter, food, and other logistics support to the Pakistani terrorist. The duo had even facilitated Bahadur Ali by arranging his meetings with other Pakistani terrorists in the Kashmir Valley.

These two men were identified and arrested in September 2017 and were chargesheeted by NIA in March 2018. The court convicted them on December 18, 2025, and passed the sentence against them today, causing a massive setback to the OGW network of harbourers of Pakistani terrorists in Kashmir. (ANI)