JAMMU: A Special Court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Jammu has issued a Letter Rogatory to judicial authorities in China seeking assistance in tracing the purchaser, end user and technical records of a GoPro Hero 12 Black camera allegedly linked to last year’s Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.
The order was passed by the Special Judge under the NIA Act after Deputy Inspector General, NIA, Sandeep Choudhary, filed an application under Section 112 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) requesting issuance of the Letter Rogatory.
According to the court, investigators examining material objects and electronic devices connected with the conspiracy identified the GoPro camera as a crucial piece of evidence. The device is believed to be significant in establishing pre-attack reconnaissance, movement patterns and operational preparations of the terrorist module involved in the Pahalgam attack.
The court noted that a lawful notice had been served to the manufacturer of the camera. In its response, the company stated that the device had been supplied to AE Group International Limited, a distributor based in China, and was activated on January 30, 2024, in Dongguan, China. The manufacturer further clarified that it does not maintain downstream transaction details or end-user records of the device.
The NIA submitted that the activation, initial usage and commercial trail of the camera fall within China’s territorial jurisdiction and that the required information can only be obtained through judicial cooperation from Chinese authorities.
Observing that India and China do not share a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty on the matter, the court stated that assistance could be sought under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC), as both nations are signatories to the convention.
The court also recorded that the Ministry of Home Affairs has granted concurrence for issuing the Letter Rogatory. Emphasising the importance of the information sought, the judge said it is vital to establish the chain of custody, user attribution and evidentiary linkage of the seized device in order to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the attack.
Allowing the application, the court directed that three sets of the physical Letter Rogatory, along with Chinese translations, be forwarded to the CBI’s International Police Cooperation Unit (IPCU) in New Delhi. The IPCU has been instructed to obtain a forwarding letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs and transmit the documents to the requested country through diplomatic channels.
