NIA Arrests Key Suspect Linked To Indian High Commission Attack In London

A man, identified as Inderpal Singh Gaba, a resident of Hounslow, UK, has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the violence at the Indian High Commission in London during a protest on March 22 last year, as announced by an NIA spokesperson on Thursday.

It was stated that unlawful activities were carried out by the accused during the protests, which were revealed to be part of a larger conspiracy aimed at unleashing vicious attacks on Indian missions and officials.

Photo Credit: PTI

NIA Arrests Key Suspect In London

The attacks in London in March 2023 were determined by the NIA to be in retaliation for the action taken by Punjab Police against pro-Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh on March 18, 2023. Lookout circulars (LOCs) were issued against 15 individuals by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), who were identified from five videos depicting the violence.

These videos were obtained by an NIA team during its visit to the United Kingdom in May last year for investigating the incident and a suspected terror link involving Pakistan's ISI. The videos showed people gathering outside the Indian High Commission in London and engaging in violent acts, as reported by PTI.

Upon returning to India, the videos and photographs of 45 suspects were shared in the public domain by the NIA along with an appeal for assistance in identification, receiving around 850 calls in response. The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the immigration department assisted in identifying the suspects.

On March 19, 2023, a group of about 50 people attacked the Indian High Commission in London, resulting in accusations of criminal trespassing, disrespecting the Indian national flag, destruction of public property, and injuring High Commission officials, as outlined in an FIR lodged by a High Commission officer.

The orchestrators of the attack, identified in the FIR, include Gurcharan Singh of Dal Khalsa, UK; Avtar Singh Khanda from the Khalistan Liberation Force, and Jasvir Singh. "Khanda passed away in Birmingham in June, and the NIA is coordinating with the relevant department to obtain his death certificate for their case file," stated an official, as reported by Indian Express.

During its investigation into the incident in the UK, the NIA questioned Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh and nine of his associates in Assam's Dibrugarh jail after they were found to have been in contact with Khanda, who allegedly incited the protesters by chanting anti-India and pro-Khalistan slogans.

"On August 1, 2023, raids were conducted at multiple locations by the NIA in Punjab and Haryana after identifying some of the attackers. The raids led to the seizure of digital data containing information related to the suspects," an NIA official noted.