New Delhi: Canadian police have arrested Arshdeep Singh Gill, who Indian officers believe is designated terrorist Arsh Dalla under investigation in over 70 criminal cases, for a shooting that took place in Milton town last month.
His bail application is up for hearing Thursday, according to the records of the Ontario court.
Dalla, a close operative of slain Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, is wanted by various investigating agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Punjab Police in criminal cases ranging from terrorism to extortion against him.
Although officials in the security establishment are aware of Dalla’s arrest, Canadian authorities have neither sent any formal communication nor confirmed the identity of the arrested accused so far.
“We have information from our network of sources that Dalla has been arrested in Canada in a case of firing, but we do not have any official confirmation from Canadian authorities yet,” a source in the security establishment told ThePrint.
In a response to ThePrint’s questionnaire on the identity of accused arrested for the 28 October shooting in Milton, the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) said: “We aren’t able to confirm the identities of the men charged at this point in the investigation, however I can tell you that it is still being investigated and that we are still seeking suspects.”
Earlier on 29 October, the HRPS had said that it had charged two men—a 25-year-old from Halton Hills and a 28-year-old from Surrey British Columbia—with discharge of firearms with intent.
Indian investigative agencies have secured an Interpol’s Red Corner Notice against Dalla in 2022 which mandates information sharing to Indian authorities. Additionally, India’s extradition request of Arsh Dalla Dalla is also pending before Canadian authorities.
Dalla is wanted by the NIA on the charges of running extortion rackets and working to recruit youth for terror activities. Based on probe findings against Dalla and his associates, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared him an ‘individual terrorist’ in January last year.
Close aide of Nijjar, seasoned extortionist
According to a NIA charge sheet, Dalla began as an extortionist before signing up the Nijjar’s KTF and started committing acts of terrorism to challenge the sovereignty of India.
Sources in the Punjab Police said that the Moga native faces more than 50 cases of extortions in the state while the NIA is probing four cases against him and his associates.
Nijjar, in company of Dalla and other gangsters, hatched a conspiracy to kidnap and kill people of other communities to create a sense of fear and disaffection in Punjab, according to investigators.
The investigators allegedly found that Dalla and his associates used various tactics such as arranging visas, quality jobs and hefty earnings to lure more recruits into their modules to kill and instil fear in people of other faiths.
Dalla manages delivery of weapons from across the border through drones which are then handed over to his aides and operatives to carry out extortion and other anti-national activities, according to the NIA.
In one of the latest chargesheet filed in May, the NIA mentioned that Dalla was running a sleeper cell from Canada with the help of Indian agents. Dalla provided funds to three aides —Harjeet Singh alias Harry Maur, Ravinder Singh alias Rajvinder Singh alias Harry Rajpura, and Rajeev Kumar alias Sheela—to carry out terrorist acts in Punjab and Delhi, it added.
The first two operatives were arrested on 23 November last year, while Kumar was nabbed in January.
Last week, the Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) Mohali and Faridkot District Police in a joint search operation arrested Dalla’s operatives for allegedly killing a Sikh activist in Faridkot district.
Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pragya Jain said that Dalla provided both the weapons and hide outs to the assailants who killed the activist at Hari Nau village in Faridkot.
These operatives were also involved in the firing and extortion incident at Zirakpur on 18 October where Dalla’s posters were hung on the main entrance of a businessman’s house. The businessman had received extortion calls.
On Tuesday, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said that a grenade attack on a petrol pump in Mansa district was launched in the direction of Dalla. The owner had received an extortion call from a foreign mobile number. The assailant, during interrogation, told the Punjab Police that he procured a grenade on the instructions of Dalla.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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