NIA raid busts a terrorist-gangster nexus using mobile phones, threats, and opium!

During searches on Monday at 50 locations across three states and the national capital, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) discovered threatening posters and letters in addition to firearms and packed mobile phones intended to be sent to accomplices in prisons. The operations, according to authorities, were carried out to break up a ‘growing nexus’ between criminals, drug traffickers, and terrorists.

Gangsters who were involved in the murder of Punjabi musician Sidhu Moosewala were also among those targeted by the searches. The raids were placed in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Goldy Brar, who is currently residing in Canada, Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Varinder Pratap alias Kala Rana, Kala Jathedi, Vikram Brar, and Gaurav Patyal alias Lucky Patyal (who was previously jailed in India) had their homes searched.

Gangsters Neeraj Bawana, Koushal Chaudhary, Tillu Tajpuria, Amit Dagar, Deepak Kumar alias Tinu, Sandeep alias Bandar, Umesh alias Kala, Irfan alias Cheenu Pahalwan, Ashim alias Hashim Baba, Sachin Bhanja, and their associates had other properties covered. In addition, Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead in Punjab on May 29, is thought to have been killed along with Goldy Brar and Bhagwanpuria.

Six pistols, one revolver, and one shotgun were seized along with ammunition during the raids apart from drugs, cash, incriminating documents, digital devices, details of Benami property, and threatening letters, officials told News18.

• Threatening letters may have been found at Bhupi Rana’s home in Mohali, which she shares with Gaurav Patyal of the Lucky Patyal gang.

   

• Five weapons and one shotgun were found at the home of Virender Pratap alias Kala Rana, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Kala Jathedi gang. Packed mobile phones (intended to be transported to prisoners) were also discovered there.

   

• A knife was found at Jitender alias Kala’s residence outside North Delhi, who is a friend of Tillu Tajpuria (Bambiha gang)
• According to officials in Gurugram, the home of criminal Varinder Pratap alias Kala Rana in Yamunanagar was raided and illegal weapons, ammunition, 23 mobile phones, six mobile chargers, a headphone, a pen drive, a DVR, 10 grams of opium, and some incriminating documents were taken.

   

• The raids on Monday were conducted in response to recent reports of dramatic crimes and extortion calls made by criminal networks and gangsters to businesspeople and other professions, including physicians. In order to spread fear among the general people, officials said that these gangs were exploiting cyberspace to publicize their atrocities.

According to an NIA spokeswoman, the NIA investigations further showed that these criminal activities were not isolated local instances but rather part of a broad conspiracy including terrorists, criminals, and drug smuggling cartels and networks that operated from both inside and outside the nation. A large number of gang leaders and members left India and are now operating out of nations including Pakistan, Canada, Malaysia, and Australia.

Investigations currently under way in cases the agency is looking into, such as the murder of Shaurya Chakra recipient Comrade Balwinder Singh in Punjab, have also shown that the majority of these conspiracies were hatched in prisons in various states and were carried out with the assistance of a well-organized network of operatives based abroad. The 50 locations searched were in the Punjabi cities of Fazilka, Fairdkot, Mukhtsar Sahab, Moga, Taran Taaran, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and Mohali; the Haryanan cities of East Gurugram, Bhiwani, Yamuna Nagar, Sonepat, and Jhajjar; the Rajasthani districts of Hanumangarh and Ganganagar; and the Delhi-NCR cities