The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday swooped down on 30 locations in four States and one union territory in connection with the terrorist-gangster nexus case relating to individual designated terrorist Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala and other suspects of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). Raids were conducted across Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and the UT of Chandigarh by NIA teams as part of the agency’s crackdown against the terror activities of Chiefs/members of the proscribed terrorist organisations and other such outfits.
The premises raided today were linked to various suspected associates of Dala, as well as Baljeet Maur and Australia based Gurjant Singh, in NIA case RC 02/2024/NIA/DLI, dated 13th February 2024. Incriminating materials, including digital devices, were seized during the searches. The case relates to nefarious criminal activities of the KTF and other terror outfits’, including 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 Dala, Maur and Gurjant had conspired to carry out such activities for furthering their terror agenda. The suspects whose premises were raided today had been working for these 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.
These associates were also part of an extortion racket for raising funds for the banned outfit.
They used to identify extortion targets, including businessmen, and then threaten them into parting with huge amounts. NIA has been carrying out a concerted campaign against terrorist outfits and individual terrorists engaged in violent criminal activities.