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NIA hits at Khalistan terror-gangster network, six arrested

Close associates of gangsters Arsh Dalla, Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Goldy Brar have been arrested in the recent raids of the NIA.

Updated on: Feb 23, 2023, 10:22:03 IST
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In the recent nationwide raids of the National Investigation Agency at 76 locations across eight states, six people have been arrested including close associates of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Goldy Brar. The arrested include Lucky Khokar alias Denis, who is a close associate of Canada-based designated terrorist Arsh Dalla. Others who were arrested in the raids, which were carried out in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Delhi, NCR, Maharashtra, and MP, include associates of gangsters Lawrance Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Goldy Brar, the agency said.

NIA launched searches across India to crack down on the gangster syndicate.
NIA launched searches across India to crack down on the gangster syndicate.

Khokhar, a resident of Bhatinda was nabbed from Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, on Tuesday. He was in direct and frequent contact with Arsh Dala in Canada and looked after the recruitment for him and received funds from him for carrying out terror-related activities. He provided arms and ammunition to Arsh Dalla’s associates in Punjab on his directions, which were also used for carrying out the recent killing in Jagraon, Punjab on directions of Arsh Dalla.

The NIA investigations have so far revealed that many criminals, who were leading gangsters in India, had fled to countries like Pakistan, Canada, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia and were planning their terror and criminal acts from there, in association with criminals lodged in jails in different states. These groups were carrying out targeted killings and raising funds for their nefarious activities through smuggling of drugs and weapons, hawala and extortions.

According to an NIA spokesperson, Khokhar was working for Dalla, who has been involved in smuggling arms, ammunition, explosives, IEDs etc. across international and inter-state borders in India for several Khalistani terror outfits, including the Khalistan Liberation Force, Babbar Khalsa International and International Sikh Youth Federation.

Other arrested include Hari Om alias Titu, Lakhvir Singh. Nine weapons were recovered from Lakhvir’s possession. He is a notorious criminal and an associate of Chhotu Ram Bhaat, who was earlier arrested in the case. The NIA has so far arrested 9 accused, inlcuding Kaushal Choudhary, Amit Dagar, Sukhpreet Singh, Bhupi Rana, Neeraj Bawana, Naveen Bali and Sunil Balyan, in this case.

According to the spokesperson, Surender Chaudhrary and Dalip Bishnoi, are known associates of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Canada-based criminal, Goldy Brar. They were arrested for raising funds, recruiting youth and carrying out terrorist acts on behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. This case was also registered by the NIA in August last and

10 accused, including Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Kala Jatheri, Kala Rana, Joginder Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Raju Basoudi, Anil Chippi, Naresh Yadav, and Shahbaz Ansari have been arrested.

The spokesperson said Surinder Chaudhry, who was arrested on Tuesday faces several cases under the NDPS Act, for attempt to murder and extortions. He has been involved in illegal liquor contracts, smuggling and extortion from liquor & mining contractors in Haryana and has been one of the main financers of terror-gangster sydicates.

Dalip Bishnoi, who was arrested on Wednesday, is a habitual criminal having 13 cases against him. He has been one of the main financers of this terror gang and was providing logistics support to the gangs in Punjab and Rajasthan.

Further investigations are on to dismantle such terror networks and their funding and support infrastructure.

  • Shishir Gupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shishir Gupta

    Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.Read More

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