Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 27: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday detained several suspects during the searches across six States and one Union Territory as part of the crackdown on the terrorist-gangster-drug smuggler nexus linked to criminal syndicates of Khalistani separatists based in countries like Pakistan and Canada, particularly Arshdeep Singh Gill aka Arsh Dalla and other gangsters, who use these networks for terror-related activities.
The raids started in the early hours with the assistance of the local police. The NIA teams zeroed in on 53 locations from where pistols, ammunition and a large number of digital devices were seized. They included places in Punjab’s Amritsar, Moga, Fazilka, Ludhiana, Mohali, Faridkot, Barnala, Bhatinda, Ferozpur, SAS Nagar, Amritsar and Jalandhar.
The searches were also conducted in Rohtak, Sirsa, Fatehabad and Faridabad in Haryana; Sri Ganga Nagar, Jhunjhunu, Hanumangarh and Jodhpur in Rajasthan; Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh; Dehradun and Udhamsingh Nagar in Uttarakhand; in and around Delhi; and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
The NIA raids – and the focus on links with Canada-based syndicates and criminals – come as Delhi is locked in a major diplomatic row with Ottawa. Last week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed “credible” information connecting “agents of Delhi” to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in June.
India has rejected the “absurd” allegation and has pointed out Canadian authorities have yet to share evidence. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has flagged a spike in “organised crime relating to secessionist forces and extremism” in that country.
Early on Wednesday morning the agency raided locations connected to gangs run by Lawrence Bishnoi and Canada-based Arshdeep Dalla, whom police this week linked to Pakistan-based terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba. A large quantity of arms, ammunition and digital evidence were recovered during the raid, sources said.
According to the NIA, fugitives like Dalla and Gaurav Patial are based abroad but stay in touch with Khalistani terrorists to secure funding, smuggle weapons and order murders, acts of extortion and to take part in other anti-national activities. In Punjab alone the NIA raided 30 locations. These are part of efforts to build a watertight case against the syndicates, most of which are now operated from Dubai and are linked to cases the NIA filed last year under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Some of the raids targeted Canada-based Lakhbir Singh alias Landa; Pak-based Harvinder Singh Rinda, and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is based in the United States and is the founder of the banned “Sikhs For Justice” separatist group.
Cases have been filed against Bishnoi and gangster bosses Goldy Brar and Vikram Brar, as well as Bambiha, Kaushal Chaudhary, Neeraj Bawana, Dilpreet, and Sukhpreet alias Budha. There are also cases against Sunil, alias Tillu Tajpuriya, who was killed inside Delhi’s Tihar Jail in May, and Bambiha, who was shot dead in a 2016 encounter. Of the other bosses, Bishnoi is in jail in Ahmedabad and Dalla is in Canada.
The NIA last week also seized properties owned by Pannun in Chandigarh and Amritsar. Pannun, wanted since 2019 on charges of promoting and commissioning terrorist acts, faces 22 criminal cases in Punjab alone, including three of sedition. Two days before that the agency raided over 1,000 locations across Punjab and Haryana; these were linked to Goldy Brar, who allegedly planned the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.
“These were the seventh in the series of such crackdowns launched by the NIA following the registration of five cases since August 2022, including two new cases registered against the organised criminal gangs in July 2023,” said the agency. The cases allege conspiracies of targeted killings, terror funding of pro-Khalistan outfits, extortion, etc. by the gangsters, many of whom are lodged in various jails or are operating from countries like Pakistan, Canada, Malaysia, Portugal and Australia.
According to the NIA, the fresh raids were aimed at dismantling the terror-gangster-drug smuggler nexus by taking action against weapon suppliers, financiers and logistics providers associated with various gangs and their operatives. “These gangs are working with drug smugglers and terrorists based out of other countries, including Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Portugal etc,” it said.
The NIA probe has revealed that conspiracies were allegedly being hatched in jails of different States and executed by an organised network of operatives based abroad. Notable among such conspiracies were the sensational killing of Maharashtra builder Sanjay Biyani, mining trader Mehal Singh and international Kabaddi player, Sandeep Nangal Ambia, in Punjab last year.
Many gangsters and criminals, who were earlier leading these gangs in India, have fled overseas in recent years and are now pursuing their terror and violence-related activities from there, said the agency. Their roles in serious crimes such as contract and revenge killings are being investigated. These groups are also involved in the smuggling of drugs and weapons, “hawala” operations and extortions.
These gangs came on the NIA radar following reports that several prisons had become havens of nexus between gangsters and a battleground for rival gangs, resulting in violence. One such incident, in which two inmates were beaten to death, was reported from Punjab’s Goindwal Jail in February this year.
The agency had earlier searched over 370 locations, leading to the seizure of 38 arms, including four lethal weapons, along with 1,129 rounds of ammunition. It has so far frozen 87 bank accounts and attached 13 properties, apart from seizing 331 digital devices, 418 documents and two vehicles. Two of the wanted accused have been notified as “designated individual terrorists” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 15 declared as “Proclaimed Offenders” and Interpol Red Notices issued against nine on the NIA’s request.
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