New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday detained several suspects in a massive crackdown against a nexus of terrorists, gangsters and drug smugglers in the country linked with listed terrorist Arsh Dalla and dreaded gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Sukhdool Singh alias Sukha Duneke, Harry Maur, Narender alias Lali, Kala Jatheri, and Deepak Tinu.
These raids were focused on “dismantling the terror-gangster-drug smuggler nexus, and on weapon suppliers, financiers and logistics providers associated with various hardcore gangs and their operatives”.
These gangs allegedly work with drug smugglers and terrorists based out of foreign countries, including Pakistan, UAE, Canada, and Portugal among others.
According to the agency, this is the seventh such raid in a series of crackdowns launched following the registration of five cases since last August and two new cases against Organised Criminal Gangs in July 2023.
Jails: safe havens
“The cases relate to 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 various foreign countries, including Pakistan, Canada, Malaysia, Portugal and Australia, etc,” the NIA said in a statement.
In its statement, the agency said that 53 locations across six states — Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Union Territory Chandigarh – were raided with help from the local police. The teams seized pistols, ammunition, large numbers of digital devices and incriminating material in the raids.
The day-long raids were conducted at locations including Amritsar, Moga, Fazilka, Ludhiana, Mohali, Faridkot, Barnala, Bhatinda, Ferozepur, SAS Nagar, Amritsar, and Jalandhar districts of Punjab; Rohtak, Sirsa, Fatehabad and Faridabad districts of Haryana; Sri Ganga Nagar, Jhunjhunu, Hanumangarh and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Dehradun and Udhamsingh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, and south-east district of Delhi-NCR.
“Many of the criminals and gangsters who were earlier leading gangs in India have fled abroad in recent years and are now pursuing their terror and violence-related activities from there, as per NIA investigations. These criminals have been engaged in planning and commissioning serious crimes, including contract and revenge killings, in association with criminals lodged in jails across India. These groups have been carrying out targeted killings and raising funds for attacks and other nefarious activities through smuggling of drugs and weapons, hawala and extortions,” the agency said, adding that prisons were “havens” for the nexus.
The agency’s investigations have revealed that conspiracies under investigation were being hatched in “jails of different states and were being executed by an organised network of operatives based abroad”. The conspiracies include the sensational killing of Maharashtra builder Sanjay Biyani, mining trader Mehal Singh and international kabaddi player Sandeep Nangal Ambia in Punjab last year.
Massive police action
Wednesday’s raids follow the recent confiscation of properties in Chandigarh and Amritsar that belonged to Gurpawant Singh Pannun, the head of the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ).
Pannun is a lawyer in the US and has citizenship of both America and Canada. He is believed to be running the outlawed SFJ from Canada and other countries.
Earlier, the agency also impounded properties of pro-Khalistan separatist and designated terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa at his ancestral village Kirian near Harike in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district. It is believed Landa is in Canada’s Alberta where he fled in 2017.
NIA has also announced cash rewards for information on other Babbar Khalsa operatives, apart from Landa. These men are Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, Parminder Singh Kaira alias Pattu, Satnam Singh alias Satbir Singh alias Sattaand and Yadvinder Singh alias Yadda.
The agency has registered cases against gangsters and their associates accusing them of “conspiracy being hatched by members of criminal syndicate/gangs”, among others.
The massive police action has been prompted by Canada’s recent allegation that Indian agents were behind the 28 June murder of Sikh terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – a charge that India has rejected as “absurd and motivated”. Nijjar was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and his India properties have also been seized by the police.
The Punjab Police recently raided over a 1,000 locations connected with another fugitive criminal Gody Brar, a co-accused in the murder of singer Sidhu Moose Wala along with Lawrence Bishnoi. Bishnoi is in an Ahmedabad jail.
Brar is believed to have lived in Canada for some five years, before he allegedly crossed to the US, according to reports last year.
Arch rivals of Bishnoi and Brar, the Bambiha gang is currently run by Guarav Patial alias Lucky. He too is overseas, possibly in Armenia.
A suspected member of the Bambihas, Sukhdool Singh alias Sukha Duneke was killed in a gang rivalry in Canada’s Winnipeg last week. Duneke was also believed to be an associate of Arshdeep Singh Gill or Arsh Dalla, a member of the Khalistan Tiger Force. Dalla, a designated terrorist in India, is also in Canada.
The NIA had earlier raided over 300 locations across eight states and arrested at least three people in a crackdown on the terrorist-gangster-drug nexus running in the country. Those arrested were apparently associated with Bishnoi, Dalla and Tillu Tajpuria. Tajpuria or Sunil Balyan, head of Delhi’s Tillu gang, was murdered inside Tihar Jail on 2 May, by members of the rival Gogi gang.
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