NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency continued its targeted crackdown to dismantle the terrorist-gangster-drug smuggler nexus operating at various pockets of India and attached four properties owned by members of organised crime syndicates that has been involved in antisocial and anti-national activities including extortion, killings and smuggling in Haryana and Delhi.
According to NIA sources, these attachments and seizures have been done in the wake of the recent searches conducted at 76 locations linked with gangsters in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, MP, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi/NCR in February and seized pistols, revolvers and rifles, along with ammunition besides cash to the tune of crores.Also incriminating documents, and digital devices were also seized during the pan-India operation which was the 5th operation against the organised cartels.
The NIA had registered cases against 3 major organised crime syndicates under UAPA in August 2022 who had spread their criminal networks across the north Indian states and were involved in many sensational crimes, such as the murder of popular singer Sidhu Moosewala and large scale extortions from businessmen and professionals.
Their crimes included the killing of Maharashtra builder, Sanjay Biyani, and Sandeep Nangal Ambia, an international Kabaddi organizer in Punjab. Many of these conspiracies were found to have been masterminded from abroad, including Pakistan and Canada, or by leaders of organised criminal syndicates operating from various jails in the country,” an NIA spokesperson said.
The properties attached were found to be ‘proceeds of terrorism’, which were used for hatching terror conspiracies and execution of crimes, the NIA spokesperson confirmed. The properties attached include a residential property belonging to Asif Khan in Delhi, a residential property and agricultural land in 3 different locations belonging to Surender Singh alias Chiku in Mahendragarh district of Haryana.
According to NIA. Asif Khan was supplying weapons and logistics support to the gangsters, including a safe haven. Chiku is a close associate of Naresh Sethi, Anil Chippi and Raju Basodi, notorious mafia leaders, who were earlier arrested by the NIA.