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Terror-gangster nexus: NIA raids on in Moga, Faridkot, Ferozepur
Raids were conducted across Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chandigarh by NIA teams as part of the agency’s crackdown against terror activities, NIA said in a press statement.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday carried out raids at four locations in Moga, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts over suspicious calls to foreign countries, including Pakistan, as part of an ongoing investigation into the terrorist-gangster nexus case relating to individual designated terrorist Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dalla and other suspects of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).
Raids were conducted across Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chandigarh by NIA teams as part of the agency’s crackdown against terror activities, NIA said in a press statement.
The raids, which began in the morning, involved multiple NIA teams working in collaboration with state police forces.
They targeted the premises of individuals suspected to be linked to the case, based on specific intelligence gathered from earlier interrogation of the accused. The raids were focused on people whose numbers were used to make suspicious calls abroad, including Pakistan.
The premises raided today were linked to various suspected associates of Dalla, as well as Baljeet Maur and Australia-based Gurjant Singh, in an NIA case dated February 13, 2024. Incriminating materials, including digital devices, were seized during the searches, the probe agency added.
The case relates to nefarious criminal activities of the KTF and other terror outfits, including the smuggling of dangerous hardware, such as arms, ammunition, explosives, IEDs and narcotics etc. across international borders. The smuggled items were meant for use by the operatives, members of terror outfits and organised criminal gangs operating in various parts of the country for carrying out various terrorist acts, such as extortions to raise funds for KTF, targeted killings, recruitment of vulnerable youth, smuggling of arms and narcotics to India etc, as per NIA investigations. The investigations have further revealed that Dalla, Maur and Gurjant had conspired to carry out such activities to further their terror agenda.
In Moga district, the NIA team carried out raids at Bilaspur and Chugawan villages. The central agency raided the residence of Ravinder Singh, 22, in Bilaspur village and questioned him for three hours. “The investigation was related to a phone number registered in his name, which he revealed during interrogation that one Sukhchain Singh is using. Sukhchain is lodged in a jail right now,” said an official privy to the development.
The NIA team later raided the house of Ram Singh, 22, at Chugawan village. He was released on bail after serving two years in jail in a drug smuggling case. However, the NIA team failed to trace him during the raid as he was not at home. The team questioned his mother and wife for more than two hours.
In Faridkot district, an NIA team carried out a raid at the house of Naresh Kumar, who is a flour mill owner in Kotkapura. According to sources, the raid was carried out to investigate phone calls made by Naresh.
In the Ferozepur district, an NIA team carried out an investigation at Ghumar Mandi in Ferozepur Cantt. Sources said the mobile number registered in the name of the Ferozepur resident was under the scanner of the NIA as it was used to make calls to Pakistan and other foreign countries.
The suspects whose premises were raided had been working for the above-quoted three men to promote violent criminal activities and had been involved in smuggling weapons from Pakistan and recruitment of youth to carry out acts of violence and terror in the country at the behest of the KTF, the agency added.
