All the 14 accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy to unleash a wave of terror and carry out targeted killings of well-known social and religious leaders, movie stars, singers and businessmen, said the NIA
Lawrence Bishnoi (in mask). File Pic
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against notorious gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar and 12 others having links with the proscribed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and several other pro-Khalistani terrorist outfits, in the second of the three terror-gangster nexus cases.
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All the 14 accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy to unleash a wave of terror and carry out targeted killings of well-known social and religious leaders, movie stars, singers and businessmen, said the NIA.
Besides having links with conspirators in Pakistan, the accused were also in contact with pro-Khalistani elements based in Canada, Nepal and other countries, NIA investigations have revealed.
Bishnoi, in custody since 2015, has been operating his terror-crime Syndicate from Jails in different States, along with Canada based Goldy Brar, who is an accused in the killing of Pradeep Kumar, a Dera Sacha Sauda follower, in Faridkot in November 2022, said the NIA.
Bishnoi terror-crime-extortion syndicate was also responsible for providing killers for the Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack case on Punjab State Intelligence headquarters at Mohali, which was carried out on directions of Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, a Pakistan-based BKI terrorist, the NIA investigations have revealed.
The anti-terror agency said Brar was found to have direct links with Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, another BKI operative working closely with Rinda.
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"Landa is also an accused in the Mohali RPG attack as well as the December 2022 RPG attack on police station Sirhali in Tarn Taran, Punjab," said the NIA, adding "Investigations against Landa and three others are continuing."
NIA has seized a huge cache of nine illegal and sophisticated weapons, 14 magazines, 298 rounds of ammunition and 183 digital devices and other incriminating material in raids across 74 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Delhi in the case.
The investigating agency had conducted large-scale searches over a period of six months and examined around 70 members of different Organised Crime Support networks during the course of its investigations.
Seven Look Out Circulars and five Non Bailable Warrants have so far been issued in the case by the NIA, which has also attached and seized seven immovable properties under Section 25 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and frozen 62 bank accounts.
The agency said the investigations further led the NIA to the hideouts set up across Haryana and Punjab, which were being used to harbour the gangsters and store weapons.
Besides Bishnoi and Brar, other chargesheeted accused have been identified as Jagdeep Singh, Sachin Thapan, Anmol Bishnoi, Vikramjeet Singh, Sandeep Jhanjariya, Virender Pratap Singh, Joginder Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar, Anil, Naresh Yadav and Shahbaaz Ansari.
Earlier, on March 21, the NIA had filed its first chargesheet against 12 accused in the terror-gangster nexus cases under investigation. The accused in that case were identified as Arsh Dala, Gaurav Patyal, Sukhpreet Buddha, Kaushal Choudhary, Amit Dagar, Naveen Bali, Chhotu Bhat, Asif Khan, Jagga Takhatmal, Tillu Tajpuria, Bhupi Rana and Sandeep Bandar.
Today's action takes the total number of accused chargesheeted by the NIA so far in these cases to 26.
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