Abu Saifullah Khalid, also known by multiple aliases including Razaullah Nizamani Khalid, Vinode Kumar, and Mohammed Salim, was shot dead on Sunday in Pakistan’s Sindh province.
A top operative of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Khalid was the mastermind behind several deadly attacks in India, including the 2006 assault on the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and a 2008 attack on a CRPF camp in Uttar Pradesh.
According to reports, three unidentified gunmen opened fire on Khalid outside his residence in the Matli area, killing him on the spot.
Khalid had a long and complex history of involvement in terrorist activities targeting India. Beginning in the mid-2000s, he reportedly managed LeT operations from Nepal, playing a key role in recruitment, fund transfers, logistical support, and cross-border movement of operatives.
He worked in close coordination with senior LeT figures such as Azam Cheema (alias Babaji) and Yaqoob, the group’s chief financial handler.
Khalid was the chief planner of the 2006 Nagpur attack on the RSS headquarters, during which three LeT terrorists were killed in a gun battle with Indian security forces.
He was also linked to the 2005 terror strike at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, where Professor Munish Chandra Puri was killed and four others were injured.
The attackers in that incident managed to flee, and Khalid’s associate, Abu Anas, was later charged but remains at large.
In 2008, Khalid orchestrated an attack on a CRPF camp in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. The assault left seven security personnel and one civilian dead, and the perpetrators once again escaped capture.
After Indian intelligence agencies dismantled Lashkar’s Nepal-based network, Khalid shifted his base to Pakistan.
There, he continued to work with senior Lashkar and Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) leaders such as Yusuf Muzammil (LeT’s commander for Jammu & Kashmir), Muzammil Iqbal Hashmi, and Muhammad Yusuf Taibi.
In recent years, Khalid was tasked with recruiting new operatives and securing funds for LeT’s activities in the Sindh province, specifically in the Badin and Hyderabad districts. He was reportedly living in Badin with his Nepali wife, Nagmabanu.
Security agencies confirmed that Khalid had been under strict instructions from his handlers to limit his movements and was provided with personal security.
Nevertheless, he was ambushed and fatally shot by three assailants on Sunday afternoon. The identity of the attackers remains unknown, and investigations into the incident are ongoing.