NEW DELHI: The anti-terror federal probe agency NIA said on Tuesday that it has filed a charge sheet against an alleged key associate of two Khalistani terrorists - Harwinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, and Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa.
The chargesheet has been filed in connection with its investigation into the Punjab terror conspiracy case.
Identifying the accused named in the charge sheet as Gurpreet Singh aka Gopi a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab, the NIA in an official statement said, it has been pursuing the case against him before a special court in Mohali.
Gopi is allegedly the associate of the two designated terrorists of the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
“Investigations by the anti-terror agency have established his role in a conspiracy hatched by the BKI terrorists to unleash terror in Punjab and other parts of the country,” the NIA alleged in the charge sheet.
The accused was also involved in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on the Sarhali police station in December 2022 and had remained in contact with his foreign-based handlers from jail and also after his release.
“NIA investigations have further found that Gurpreet had conspired to raise funds for BKI and its operatives in India through large-scale extortion from businessmen on the directions of Landa. He had recruited vulnerable youth for the BKI terror module. He had also carried out a recce of targets identified by Landa and had made attempts to eliminate those targets,” the agency charge sheet read.
The NIA, which seized an illegal weapon from the accused’s house during a search operation in January this year, has charged him under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act, a senior official said.