Anti-Terror Agency Raids 32 Places In Cases Against Lawrence Bishnoi, Others

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized several illegal arms and ammunition, incriminating documents, digital devices, and cash in a massive multi-state crackdown today in three cases relating to conspiracies and activities of the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), the Lawrence Bishnoi Crime Syndicate and others.

As per NIA officials, 32 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh were raided today by teams of the agency as part of the mega operation that began early this morning.

The seizures in the searches included two pistols, two magazines, ammunition, cash amounting to Rs 4.6 lakhs, documents, and digital devices.

The three cases in which the NIA swooped down today relate to terror activities carried out by the BKI, a banned terrorist group, and the terrorist-gangster networks operating in the country.

Such activities include smuggling and induction of terrorist hardware, such as arms and ammunition, explosives, IEDs, etc., across the borders.

The terror hardware is used by operatives of terror outfits and Organized Criminal Syndicates for bomb explosions, targeted killings, extortions, funding terror outfits, etc. across the country.

Today's crackdown involved raids at 16 locations in a case related to the activities of the chiefs and members of the BKI.

The NIA, which registered the case suo moto on July 10, 2023, identified Harwinder Singh alias Rinda and Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa as among the key conspirators hatching terror conspiracies and smuggling arms and ammunition into Punjab.

They have also been sending funds to their associates through various MTSS channels for terrorist acts, the NIA's investigations have found.

Seven locations were raided in the case registered against the Organized Crime Syndicate run on the directions of Lawrence Bishnoi and his aides, including Goldy Brar, under the anti-terror UAPA law.

The syndicate spread its mafia-style criminal networks across India and abroad, in active conspiracy with Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, a 'designated individual terrorist', the NIA said.

These networks have been involved in many sensational crimes, including the murders of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala and religious and social leaders like Pardeep Kumar, besides large-scale extortions from businessmen and professionals.

The third case in which nine raids were conducted today relates to various proscribed terrorist groups and criminal gangs in India and abroad involved in hatching terror and criminal conspiracies across India.

The searches were a part of the NIA's continuous crackdown on terror outfits and individual terrorists carrying out criminal or terrorist activities in India, as well as on their support networks.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)