The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is currently carrying out searches at 122 places across six states as part of an investigation into the suspected nexus between gangsters, drug smugglers, and terrorist groups linked to foreign countries such as Pakistan and Canada.NIA teams raided many suspected houses in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh based on available information. At around 4 am, a team of about a dozen NIA officials carried out these raids simultaneously. According to an officer, the searches are in connection with three NIA cases that target organised criminal syndicates, powerful gangsters, and associates who are involved in criminal activities and business operations across multiple states, including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.Growing terrorist-gangster nexusThe inquiry intends to unravel these terror networks as well as reveal their funding and support systems. In February, the NIA raided the houses of people suspected of being in communication with gangsters in Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh. In two of the three cases, NIA has already filed chargesheets.According to the NIA chargesheet, several criminal gangs active in North India are now directed from Dubai, while pro-Khalistan organisations use their networks to engage in illegal operations reminiscent of the 1990s underworld. Fugitives like Arsh Dala and Gaurav Patial are purportedly in communication with pro-Khalistan forces imprisoned in India and other countries to carry out targeted assassinations, extortion, and terrorist acts. The charge sheet also portrays prisons as a fertile ground for the crime-terror nexus.The NIA filed three cases in August 2022 against Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, a Canadian criminal, Harvinder Singh Rinda, a Pakistani gangster, and Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the founder of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) in the United States. These people, among others, were accused of aiding the Khalistan movement. Two cases were also filed against gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, and Vikram Brar, as well as their rivals Davinder Bambiha, Kaushal Chaudhary, Neeraj Bawana, Sunil alias Tillu Tajpuriya, Dilpreet, and Sukhpreet alias Budha.
