The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted searches at over 50 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan and Delhi/ NCR region to dismantle and disrupt the emerging nexus between terrorists, gangsters and drug smugglers/traffickers based in India and abroad.
A few of the most desperate gang leaders and their associates based in India and abroad, who are spearheading and carrying out such terror and criminal activities were identified and booked in two cases registered by the NIA in August.
“The second round of raids and searches is part of the NIA crackdown against top gangsters, their criminal and business associates based in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and arms suppliers based in UP, Rajasthan and Delhi followed the launch of investigations by the NIA against such organised criminal syndicates and networks,” the NIA said in a statement.
Their associates involved in illegal liquor supply mafia were also targeted in the searches on Tuesday, including Rajesh alias Raju Mota of Basodi village in Sonepat district of Haryana.
In its ongoing efforts to dismantle these trans-national terror and crime networks, NIA conducted searches at 52 locations in Abohar, Bhatinda, Muktsar Sahab, Moga, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Mohali districts of Punjab, East Gurugram, Bhiwani, Yamuna Nagar, Sonepat, Mahendragarh, Manesar, Rewari, Rohtak and Jhajjar districts of Haryana, Churu, Bharatpur and Alwar districts of Rajasthan , Noida, Bulanshehar and Sonbhadra districts of UP and Dwarka, Outer North, Central, Outer and North East districts of Delhi, it said.
Searches were conducted at the premises of Sampat Nehra of Churu-Rajasthan, Naresh Sethi (notorious gangster-criminal of Jhajjar-Haryana), Surender alias Cheeku of Narnaul-Haryana, Naveen alias Bali of Bawana-Delhi, Amit alias Dabang of Tajpur-Outer Delhi, Amit Dagar of Gurugram-Haryana, Sandeep alias Bandar, Salim alias Pistol of North-East Delhi, Qurban and Rizwan Khurja of Bulandshahr-UP and their associates.During the searches, five pistols/revolvers have been seized, along with ammunition, which includes a cache of four pistols from the house of Advocate Asif Khan of Gautam Vihar, Usmanpur, North East Delhi. He was connected with various gangsters of Haryana and Delhi, the agency said.
Few weapons in semi-knocked down condition have also been recovered. Apart from these, incriminating documents, digital devices, details about benami property created through proceeds of crime, cash, gold bars and gold jewellery from Khurja , Bulandshahar (UP) and threat letters among others have also been seized by the NIA.
“Preliminary investigations have revealed that these gangs were carrying out targeted killings and were also raising funds to carry out such criminal activities through smuggling of drugs and weapons,” the agency said.
The recent sensational crimes and extortion calls by criminal syndicates and gangsters to businessmen, professionals, including doctors, had created a widespread scare among the people. These gangs were using cyber-space to publicise these crimes to create terror among the public at large, it said, adding such crimes were part of a deep rooted conspiracy amongst terrorists, gangsters and drug smuggling cartels and networks, operating from within and without the country.
Many gang leaders and members had fled from India and were now operating from foreign countries, including Pakistan, Canada, Malaysia and Australia.
Ongoing probes by the NIA in cases like the killing of Shaurya Chakra Awardee Comrade Balwinder Singh in Punjab also revealed that such conspiracies were being hatched from inside jails of different States and were being executed by an organized network of operatives based abroad, it added.