LeT Operative Gets 7-Year Jail In Bengaluru Prison Radicalisation Case

A special court of the National Investigation Agency has sentenced a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment with a ₹30,000 fine in the 2023 Bengaluru prison radicalisation case, marking another key conviction in the wider terror conspiracy.

The convict, Vikram Kumar alias Chota Usman , a native of Bihar, is among multiple accused linked to a network that radicalised inmates inside Bengaluru Central Prison . He had earlier been jailed in a 2017 murder case , during which he came under the influence of mastermind T Naseer and was subsequently radicalised and converted.

Investigators said Vikram later worked closely with absconding handler Junaid Ahmed , who continues to evade arrest and carries a reward. Acting on instructions, he collected grenades, ammunition, and communication devices from Ambala in May 2023 , which were meant not only to aid an escape but also to execute a planned “fidayeen” attack in Bengaluru .

The conspiracy, led by Naseer, an accused in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts, focused on recruiting vulnerable prisoners between 2017 and 2023 to build a terror module. Authorities have also uncovered a disturbing prison-insider nexus , with a psychiatrist, a police officer, and others accused of facilitating communication, funding, and logistics for the group.

The case, initially registered by Bengaluru police in 2023, was later taken over by the NIA, which has so far chargesheeted 12 accused . Several, including Naseer, pleaded guilty in 2025, leading to multiple convictions.