The Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Lucknow has convicted Rajakbhai Kumbhar, the second key accused in a case involving espionage activities backed by Pakistan. Kumbhar, hailing from the West Kachchh district of Gujarat, has been sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The court also imposed fines, with the stipulation that if the fines are not paid, an additional month of imprisonment will be added for each charge.

The case, designated as RC-03/2020/NIA-LKW, originally began with an investigation by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. The ATS had charged another accused, Mohd Rashid from Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, who was previously convicted. Rashid was found to have been in contact with agents from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), allegedly providing them with sensitive photographs of strategic military locations and movements within India.

The NIA's investigations revealed that Kumbhar conspired with Rashid and ISI agents to facilitate terrorist acts and conceal anti-India operations orchestrated by these agents. He was implicated in providing funds to Rashid in exchange for sensitive photographs that were subsequently sent to ISI operatives.

The NIA took over the investigation in April 2020 and filed charges against Rashid in July 2020. A supplementary chargesheet against Kumbhar was filed in February 2021, detailing their conspiratorial activities.

This conviction highlights ongoing concerns regarding espionage activities linked to Pakistan and underlines the NIA's continued efforts to combat such threats to national security.