CHANDIGARH: The NIA on Monday carried out raids in three states in connection with a case related to narco-terrorism by alleged gangsters, some of whom were also involved in the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, officials said.
Raids were being carried out in Punjab, Delhi and Haryana and the sites included the residences of Goldy Brar and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria who are also accused in the killing of Moose Wala, they said.
Sources said that the NIA teams are conducting searches at houses of gangsters at 25 places in Punjab, including Jaggu Bhagwanpuria in Gurdaspur, Sukhpreet Singh Budha at Moga, Lawrence Bishnoi at Abohar, Gagan at Ferozepur village in Mullanpur area of Mohali district. In total, raids have been going on in 50 places in Punjab, Delhi and Haryana.
The NIA conducted raids at two places in Muktsar. They searched the house of gangster Satenderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar on Kotkapura Road and also a house of the shoe-shop owner at Bagh Wali Gali in the town. Also, searches are ongoing at Amritsar.
Besides this, NIA sleuths also searched the house of gangster Lucky Patial at Chandigarh and searches are going on at around eight locations in Haryana.
Sources said the NIA raids are in connection with two cases which were transferred from the Delhi Police in connection with the murder and gangs associated with it. The Delhi Police had earlier invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in these cases. As UAPA was invoked against gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar and Vikram Brar, Davinder Bambiha, Kaushal Chaudhary, Neeraj Bawana, Sunil, Dilpreet and Sukhpreet alias Budha in the murder case of Punjab singer Sidhu Moosewala.
In addition to NIA, the Additional DGP of Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of Punjab Police Promod Ban is leading the Punjab Police teams in raids at twenty places in the state as the searches are going on.
A suspect has been rounded up from Ghanaur near Patiala also in relation to the recent arrest of three alleged accused in the Sidhu Moosewala case from near the Indo-Nepal border in West Bengal.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the state police are providing assistance to the NIA in the raids as they are not specifically into the Sidhu Moosewala case but regarding two 'Omnibus FIRs' lodged against gangsters under UAPA by Delhi Police and later transferred to the NIA. While yesterday Yadav said, "There is a strong nexus between terror groups and gangsters. The ISI is exploiting this nexus."
An NIA spokesperson said, "The NIA has no investigation launched into the Sidhu Moosewala case. We have registered separate cases on gangsters’ networks as these searches are about that."