NEW DELHI, Nov 22: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations across Punjab and Haryana in connection with the probe into the attacks on the Consulate General of India in San Francisco, the United States.
The attacks took place on March 19 and July 2 this year, when assailants broke in and vandalised the office and attempted to harm Consulate officials and set the building on fire.
The NIA has already identified certain individuals who were believed to be part of the conspiracy behind the repeated incidents of violence. They include the attackers and many of their associates, who are both Indian and foreign nationals. The agency has crowd-sourced information to identify and collect information about U.S.-based entities and individuals, who were complicit.
On Wednesday morning, the agency raided 14 locations in the two States in a bid to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the attacks. Searches were carried out in the Moga, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Mohali, and Patiala districts of Punjab, as well as in Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar in Haryana. During the operation, the agency seized digital data containing information related to the accused, along with other incriminating documents.
“The NIA has been probing the case with the aim to identify and prosecute the attackers… and send a strong message to such anti-Indian elements. A team of the NIA had visited San Francisco, USA, in August 2023 to investigate the incidents of attacks on the Consulate through violent acts of arson and vandalism leading to fear among the Consulate staff and the community,” an agency statement said.
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco was first attacked on March 19 by a group of assailants which committed criminal trespass, damaged public property, and attacked officials of the Consulate. Prior to this attack, on the same day, some attackers attempted to set the Consulate building on fire by sprinkling inflammable substances early in the morning. Again, around midnight on July 2, some persons had attempted to set the Consulate building on fire.
(Manas Dasgupta)