NIA raids at 50 locations expose the dirty nexus between ISI, Khalistanis and gangsters

The raids are important as Pakistan's ISI is hell-bent on exploiting the nexus between the terrorists and gangsters

New Delhi, Sep 13: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at 50 different locations in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi to expose the gangster-terrorist network. The agency registered two FIRs in Punjab and Haryana following the recovery of illicit arms and incriminating documents.

The RPG attack at the Mohali police station and the Patiala jail break led to a probe by the NIA which has been working on this case for the past 8 months. It was found that terrorists were using gangsters to further their activities. Due to the terror angle to these gangster related case, the NIA had to step in and probe the matter.

From the residence of Virendra Pratap Singh alias Kala Rana at Yamunanagar, the NIA recovered six illegal weapons, 90 live cartridges and 10 mobile phones. Searches were also conducted at the Muktsar residence of Goldy Brar, the mastermind in the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case. The NIA recovered one mobile SIM card. An official, however, clarified to OneIndia that this raid was not in connection with the Moose Wala murder, but on Brar whose international links with terror groups have come to the fore.

Further the NIA also recovered documents from the residence of gangster Gaurav Patial alias Lucky. Two mobile phone sets and some documents were recovered from the residence of jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuriya's Batala, Gurdaspur.

During the raids at gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's Dutaranwali, Abohar residence, the agency recovered one mobile set and two mobile SIM cards. The DVR of the CCTV cameras were also taken by the NIA.

The raids are important as Pakistan's ISI is hell-bent on exploiting the nexus between the terrorists and gangsters. It is a well known fact that the ISI has been trying to revive the Khalistan movement in Punjab and neighbouring states. It was also found that through the gangsters, the terror groups were roping in unemployed youth and using them to create terror. These youth would fall prey as they would be paid small sums of money to commit acts of terror.

An Intelligence Bureau official says that the ISI, by using these gangsters, was also making out a case of deniability for the acts of terror. Each time an act of terror would be committed, the focus would be on these gangs and it was made to look out like an internal job.

The official cited above also said that the ISI had chosen Harvinder Singh Rinda, a gangster turned terrorist who is based in Pakistan to liaison with these gangsters. The name of Rinda had cropped up in the Moose Wala murder case as well.

Rinda had played a part in the attack. Rinda and Bishnoi had met with them when they were in a Punjab jail, the report said.

The IB has been warning that pro-Khalistan elements have been gradually coming back with the help of the ISI. Two back-to-back incidents that have rocked Punjab have a clear ISI link to it. In May following the RPG attack on the Intelligence wing headquarters, Punjab DGP, Viresh Kumar Bhawra said that it was carried out by the Babbar Khalsa in association with some gangsters, all of whom had the backing of the ISI. The key conspirator in this attack was identified as Lakhbir Singh Landa who has been in Canada since 2017. Landa is a close associate of Wadhwa Singh and the ISI.

It is a nexus between the ISI, gangsters, terrorists and the masterminds abroad. Even if one were to take the case of the Ludhiana Court blast, it was found that it was the handiwork of gangsters involved in smuggling.