The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested its former Superintendent of Police (SP) Arvind Digvijay Negi on the charge of leaking secret documents of the agency to an accused in a case against overground workers of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
In November last year, the NIA had arrested Kashmir-based human rights activist Khurram Parvez in the same case.
Mr. Negi, who had probed several terrorism-related cases, was currently posted in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla after being repatriated from the NIA. The agency did not reveal the identity of the person with whom he allegedly shared the secret documents.
Mr. Negi had received a gallantry award in 2017 for his probe in a terror funding case.
The agency said the case was registered on November 6, 2022, to probe the widespread network of overground workers of the LeT, who were providing support to the outfit in the planning and execution of terror activities in the country. The NIA had arrested six accused in the case, in which various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act have been invoked.
Premises searched
Based on the inputs about Mr. Negi's role, the agency conducted searches on his premises. “It was also found that official secret documents of the NIA were leaked by A. D. Negi to another accused person who is an overground worker of the LeT in the case,” it said.
The agency had earlier conducted searches at the office of Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society in Srinagar. Mr. Parvez was the programme coordinator of the Society.
A few days ago, a city court extended the judicial custody of Mr. Parvez and two others, Arshid Ahmad and Muneer Ahmad Kataria, by 40 more days. As alleged, they were part of the network of overground workers who gathered intelligence on probable terror targets and security installations. Some of them received funds from different people from several States, as alleged.
