The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday said it has filed a chargesheet against three notorious 'listed individual terrorists' and six others associated with banned terror outfits, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) gangsters turned terrorists and drug smugglers-suppliers.
The three notorious listed individual terrorists are Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda and Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa, both of BKI and Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala of KTF are all based abroad, where they have created their own networks of operatives to carry out terror activities in India. They have close contacts with drug smugglers/Khalistani operatives in Pakistan and other countries, the NIA said.
"Through this complex network of operatives based abroad, they have been recruiting, motivating and handling their associates in India to carry out terrorist activities, extortion and cross-border smuggling of weapons and drugs into India. They also have linkages with major gangs operating in North India, including local gangsters, organized criminal syndicates and networks," the agency said in a statement.
Investigations have also revealed a complex mechanism of fundraising for the BKI and KTF. The funds were being routed to India based associates through both, informal channels as well as formal channels with layering and fund provisioning. MTSS or other means were being used in a way that the identity of the real sender or receiver of funds was completely masked., it said.
NIA is also investigating the links of 16 other absconding and arrested accused associated with the BKI and KTF.
A former gangster, Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda is now a very important BKI member and Khalistani operative. In 2018/19, he fled to Pakistan illegally and is currently living there under the patronage of ISI, and is involved in commission of terrorist activities against India, it said.
Rinda is involved in various offences like smuggling of arms, ammunition explosives and drugs into Indian territory from Pakistan, recruitment of BKI operatives, murders, raising funds for BKI through extortion in Punjab and Maharashtra. He has been involved in many terrorist activities, including the RPG attack on Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in May 2022, and was declared as an 'individual terrorist' in 2023 by the Centre.
Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala of Moga, Punjab was an infamous gangster in India who left for Canada. In Canada, Dala came in contact with Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was the chief of banned terrorist organization KTF.
The duo engaged in recruitment of youth and formation of terrorist gangs for carrying out extortion for raising funds for KTF and for carrying out targeted killing of businessmen and leaders of particular communities in Punjab. Dala has also been declared an 'individual terrorist'.
Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa of Tarn Taran was initially involved in criminal and gangster related activities. In 2017, he left for Canada and continued his activities from there. In the meantime, he came in contact with BKI terrorist Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda and started working for the latter and BKI.
Landa has been named as the main accused in a number of terrorist incidents, including RPG attack on Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in May 2022 and RPG attack on Sarhali Police station in Tarn Taran in December, 2022. He was also the mastermind of the conspiracy to kill Punjab Police SI Dilbagh Singh in August, 2022.
Other foreign based BKI nodes chargesheeted by NIA are Harjot Singh (resident of Punjab and currently based in USA); Kashmir Singh Galwaddi, (resident of Punjab and an absconding accused of Nabha Jailbreak case suspected to be presently based in Nepal) and Tarsem Singh, brother of Landa, and is currently in Dubai.
Gurjant Singh of Punjab and currently in Australia, is amongst the foreign based nodes of KTF who has been chargesheeted.
Other accused chargesheeted by NIA are Deepak Ranga and Lucky Khokhar alias Denis, who were recruited by foreign based handlers for carrying out terror activities in India. Ranga was handled by Rinda and Landa for carrying out the RPG attack on Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters, Mohali, Punjab in May 2022.