New Delhi: As part of a probe into the attacks on the Indian consulate in San Francisco by Sikh extremists earlier this year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Wednesday conducted raids at 14 locations across Punjab and Haryana.
The counter-terrorism agency, which was entrusted with the responsibility of the probe by the Ministry of Home Affairs, said it had raided locations in Moga, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Patiala districts of Punjab, and Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar districts in Haryana.
In a statement following the raids, the NIA said it has been able to seize “incriminating documents” related to those accused in the 19 Mach and 2 July attacks on the San Francisco consulate in the US.
“A total of 14 locations were raided in the two North Indian states by the NIA teams in a bid to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the 19th March, 2023 and 2nd July, 2023 attacks, involving criminal trespass, vandalism, damage to public property and attempts to cause hurt to the Consulate officials and set the Consulate building on fire through acts of arson,” the central agency said in a statement released Thursday.
The NIA statement added: “The locations raided by NIA today [Thursday] were spread across the districts of Moga, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Patiala in Punjab, and Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar in Haryana. The crackdown led to the seizure of digital data containing information related to the accused persons, along with other incriminating documents.”
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‘Send message to anti-Indian elements’
The NIA had in August sent a team to San Francisco to investigate the case and released images of 10 probable suspects the following month.
According to the probe agency, the suspects committed criminal trespass, damage to public property, and attacked officials of the consulate leading to fear among the staff and community in the country.
In its statement Thursday, the NIA said it has been “probing the case with the aim to identify and prosecute the attackers and the assailants of the attacks and send a strong message to such anti-Indian elements”.
The Indian consulate in San Francisco was attacked twice in a matter of months this year, first on 19 March and then again on 2 July, drawing widespread condemnation from US legislators.
On 19 March, a group of pro-Khalistan [the separate state demanded by Sikh separatists] protesters had damaged the consulate and “tried to burn it down”. Raising pro-Khalistan slogans, they broke the makeshift security barriers and installed two Khalistani flags inside the consulate premises.
A purported video of the 2 July attack had the words “Violence Begets Violence” emblazoned over it, and also showed news articles related to the death of Canada-based Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief and wanted terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nijjar was gunned down outside a Vancouver gurdwara on 18 June. The Sikh extremist’s killing has embroiled India and Canada in a diplomatic row, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September alleging a potential link between Indian agents and Nijjar’s killing. India has rejected the claim as “absurd and motivated”.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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