New Delhi: From reviewing the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status and attaching properties of those accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to making the visa process tougher and issuing lookout notice, a slew of measures are being looked into to crack down on drug traffickers, gangsters and Khalistan separatists, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in the security establishment told ThePrint that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is already making a list of those individuals who are carrying out subversive activities against India from safe havens abroad like Canada.
As part of the process, the National Investigations Agency (NIA) has decided to crank up the pressure on the Khalistani separatists, they said.
The properties of all absconding UAPA accused will be attached, the sources said, adding that this would not just cover the separatists, but also gangsters and narco traffickers who are all interconnected to each other.
Talking about the OCI status, the sources said those who break Indian law or seek to incite violence, hatred and separatist ideas will face action.
“OCI card is not a birthright. It is given to individuals of Indian origin which allows them long-term and multiple visits to India. It does not guarantee citizenship. So if someone does not have an OCI card, he/she will have to apply for a regular visa and come,” a source said.
The sources said that between August 2021 and September 2023, the NIA has shared information with the Canadian authorities eight times through MoU route regarding involvement of Canada-based pro-Khalistani terrorists/gangsters/organisers of criminal networks but to no avail.
“Till date, 26 extradition requests sent by India are pending with the Canadian authorities, some of which are purely criminal including Ranjit Singh Aujla, Gurusewak Singh, Lehmber Singh Daleh, Pradeep Singh Dhaliwal, Amrinder Singh Chheena, Parminder Singh Deo, Kan war Baljit Singh Salwan wanted in narcotics case and Gurpreet Singh, Gurjinder Singh Pannu and Gurjit Singh wanted under UAPA besides other Acts,” the above-mentioned source said.
“It appears that the Canadian system deliberately moves slowly for all lawful requests made by India.”
The developments come as India and Canada are caught in a diplomatic rift which led to both sides expelling a senior diplomat each, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of “agents of the Indian government” in the killing of a prominent Sikh separatist in Surrey, a claim rejected by New Delhi as “absurd” and “motivated”.
As part of the wider crackdown, the NIA issued Thursday the pictures of 10 wanted accused in the March 2023 case of attack and vandalism at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, seeking information about them from the general public.
It has issued three separate ‘Request for Identification & Information’ notices against the wanted accused, seeking any information of importance that could lead to their arrest or apprehension. While two of the notices carry photographs of two accused each, the third notice shows pictures of the other six accused allegedly involved in the case.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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