In one of the three terror-gangster nexus cases that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is looking into, the agency on Tuesday submitted its first charge sheet against 12 individuals who were discovered to have ties to pro-Khalistan organizations and Pakistan-based conspirators.
According to a federal agency spokesperson, the organization is looking into ten more people for their alleged involvement in the terror plot, which included plans to assassinate leaders, musicians, and businesspeople in order to terrorize people, extract money from them, and cause a stir.
The official said the investigation has revealed links of the charge-sheeted accused with the proscribed Khalistan Tiger Force and its operative Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dala, a listed “Individual Terrorist”.
The accused were in communication with pro-Khalistan individuals based in Canada and other nations in addition to conspirators based in Pakistan, the spokesman claimed.
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 named in the charge document, which was presented in court here.
“The charge sheet against them followed six months of extensive searches and examination of around 100 members of different organised crime support networks by the NIA at 91 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, across 25 districts leading to the seizure of large amounts of incriminating materials,» the spokesperson said.
The NIA said it has also unearthed centres created for harbouring the gang members and stocking weapons for them in various places across Haryana and Punjab.
Around 20 weapons, 527 rounds of ammunition, 195 digital devices and 281 documents were seized in these raids and searches, while three immovable properties and three movable properties have been attached under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.