NIA Recovers GoPro Camera Used In Pahalgam Attack, Seeks China's Assistance To Trace Distributor

Last Updated:March 03, 2026, 12:19 IST

The GoPro was supplied to China-based AE Group International Limited more than a year before the deadly terror attack.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recovered a GoPro Hero 12 Black camera linked to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 tourists. The camera is considered crucial in establishing pre-attack reconnaissance, movement patterns and operational preparations of the terror module in the Pahalgam terror attack.

It has been learnt that the GoPro was supplied to China-based AE Group International Limited more than a year before the deadly terror attack.

The device was activated on January 30, 2024, in Dongguan, China. The manufacturer stated that it does not have downstream transaction details or end-user records.

The camera is among various material objects and electronic devices found and examined by the investigators connected with the conspiracy.

In order to trace the purchaser, end-user and associated technical records of the GoPro Hero 12 Black Camera, the NIA is set to issue a Letter Rogatory or LR to the competent judicial authority of the People’s Republic of China. The LR is a formal and diplomatic request from a court in one country to the judiciary of another country.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has given its concurrence for the issuance of an LR to China for seeking legal assistance in the investigation.

The development came after a special court in Jammu on March 2 allowed the NIA to seek judicial assistance from China to trace the purchaser and end-user of a GoPro camera.

The NIA informed the court that it had issued a lawful notice under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to the manufacturer GoPro BV, seeking details regarding the supply chain and activation of the device.

The information linked to the seized GoPro Hero 12 Black camera is important in establishing the chain of custody, user, attribution and evidentiary linkage as it was supplied to China’s AE group International Limited.

The court, on March 2 given its nod to the NIA based on its application to issue the LR to the competent judicial authority of the People’s Republic of China for seeking assistance and tracing the purchaser, end user and associated technical records to unearth the larger conspiracy.

The NIA took over the case from the Jammu and Kashmir Police five days after the incident, which is considered the deadliest assault on civilians in the region in almost twenty years.

News india NIA Recovers GoPro Camera Used In Pahalgam Attack, Seeks China's Assistance To Trace Distributor

Read More