KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
In a major crackdown against those involved in the attack on the Indian High Commission in London, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Tuesday raided 31 locations in Punjab and Haryana to unravel the full contours of the conspiracy and bring to book the culprits.
The locations where searches were carried out include two premises linked to UK-based NGO Khalsa Aid, and the residence of Paramjit Singh Pamma, a Khalistan Terrorist Force (KTF) militant. The High Commission of India in London was attacked on March 19 by a group of around 50 people during a pro-Khalistan protest. They committed criminal trespass, injured officials, disrespected the Indian flag and damaged public property.
“Searches were carried out in various districts including Moga, Barnala, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Tarn Taran, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, SBS Nagar, Amritsar, Mukhtsar, Sangrur, Patiala and Mohali in Punjab, and Sirsa in Haryana,” a spokesperson of the NIA said. “The raids led to the seizure of digital data containing information related to those accused of being involved in the attack on the High Commission and other incriminating documents and evidence. Massive raids were conducted across the two north-Indian states (Punjab and Haryana) as part of the NIA’s efforts to unravel the bigger conspiracy behind the London attack,” the spokesperson said.
In Mohali, an NIA team raided the house of Pamma in Phase-3B2. The NIA team reached Pamma’s residence at around 6 am and remained there till 10.30 am. During the raid, officials questioned Pamma’s parents. Pamma is on the NIA’s list of the most wanted. He is an accused in various terror cases, including the murder of Rulda Singh, who was the president of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat – an RSS affiliate organisation. Rulda Singh was shot dead in Patiala in August 2009. Another team raided the two premises of the Khalsa Aid in Patiala.
The raids at Rishi Colony and a house at Shera Wala Gate began at 6 am and continued until the afternoon. Amarpreet Singh, who heads the Khalsa Aid in Punjab, said that a team of 15-16 persons including local police raided his house and questioned him for around five about the source of Khalsa Aid’s funding and its major donors. “I answered the queries. The NIA took away some documents from the office and my home,” Amarpreet Singh said, questioning the time of the raid stating that their volunteers are currently busy in helping the flood victims in Punjab. “Our accounts are transparent and I gave the answers but the timing of the raids is questionable,” Amarpreet added.
Meanwhile, NIA said the attack on the Indian High Commission was allegedly organised by UK-based Gurcharan Singh of the Dal Khalsa, Avtar Singh Khanda of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and Jasvir Singh, and many of their associates, both Indian and foreign nationals. They were identified during the investigation.
In May, a team of the NIA visited the UK to probe the case. Subsequently, crowdsourcing of information was carried out to identify UK-based entities and individuals involved in the incident.
The NIA said it is leaving no stone unturned to arrest perpetrators of the attack, their associates and their supporters, based in India and abroad. “The NIA has been carrying out extensive investigations into the incident with a view to ensuring there is no repeat of such breach of security, disrespect to the Indian national flag or any threat to Indian interests abroad,” the spokesperson said.