The National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued its first chargesheet on Tuesday against 12 people allegedly linked to pro-Khalistan organisations and Pakistan-based conspirators in one of three terror-gangster nexus cases being investigated by the agency.
The NIA is looking into ten additional persons for their suspected involvement in a terror plot, which included intentions to eliminate particular leaders, musicians, and businessmen in order to terrorise people, extract money from them, and create a sensation.
According to the NIA, an inquiry uncovered linkages between the accused and the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and its operative, Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, a designated person terrorist.
“Besides being in contact with Pakistan-based conspirators, the accused were in touch with pro-Khalistan elements based in Canada and other nations. Arshdeep Singh Gill, Gaurav Patyal, Sukhpreet Buddha, Kaushal Choudhary, Amit Dagar, Naveen Bali, Chhotu Bhat, Asif Khan, Jagga Takhatmal, Tillu Tajpuria, Bhupi Rana, and Sandeep Bandar were charged in a Delhi court, according to an NIA spokeswoman.
“The chargesheet against them was issued following six months of rigorous searches and examinations by the NIA at 91 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, resulting in the seizure of substantial volumes of incriminating materials,” the spokesperson said.
“The investigation had also brought to light linkages of the gangsters with the music industry, singers, kabaddi players and advocates on the lines of the pre-1993 Bombay blasts era when extensive links of the underworld with the business people and the film industry had surfaced. It has also been discovered that many of the gangsters imprisoned have family members who assist them in carrying out extortion activities from behind bars,” the official stated.
The NIA has also discovered “centres” set up in several locations throughout Haryana and Punjab to house gang members and stock weapons for them. “During these raids and searches, approximately 20 weapons, 527 rounds of ammunition, 195 digital devices, and 281 documents were seized, while three immovable properties and three movable properties were attached under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” the spokesperson said.
According to the NIA, the case involves the destruction of a gangster-terror network, as well as its financial and support infrastructure. “These groups were plotting targeted killings and raising funding to carry out these and other terror actions as part of a deep-rooted conspiracy among terrorists, gangsters, drug smugglers, and their networks working both inside and outside the country,” a spokeswoman said.
