severe suppression of the BKI and Bishnoi gang

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 32 locations in north India on Thursday as part of a massive multi-state crackdown against the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the Lawrence Bishnoi crime syndicate. The raids were carried out in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.  

The NIA seized illegal arms and ammunition, incriminating documents, digital devices, and cash. The spokesperson of the premier investigating agency said that the raids took place early on Thursday morning.

Two pistols, two magazines, ammunition, cash totaling Rs 4.6 lakh, documents, and digital devices were seized during the raids, which were carried out in connection with three cases involving the BKI and the Bishnoi gang.  

The BKI has been prohibited from engaging in terror activities by the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and there are networks of terrorists and gangsters operating in the nation.

According to the NIA spokesperson, these activities include the smuggling and induction of terrorist hardware, such as weapons and ammo, explosives, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), etc., from other countries.  

Terrorist outfit operatives and organized crime syndicates use this hardware to carry out bomb blasts, targeted killings, extortions, and financing of these outfits throughout the nation.

Raids were conducted at sixteen locations on Thursday as part of a crackdown on the activities of the BKI's leaders and members.  

The NIA, which had filed the case suo motu (on its own) on July 10, 2023, has identified Lakhbir Singh Sandhu, also known as Landa, and Harwinder Singh, also known as Rinda, as two of the main conspirators who have been hatching terror plots and smuggling weapons and ammunition into Punjab. 

They have also been sending money to their associates via various money transfer service scheme (MTSS) channels in order to carry out terrorist activities.

The government recently declared Goldy Brar, a Canadian gangster, to be an individual terrorist. The NIA filed a second case against the organized crime syndicate that was operating under the provisions of the UAPA, raiding seven locations. 

The syndicate had expanded its "mafia-style" criminal networks in multiple states and internationally in an ongoing conspiracy with Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda, a "designated individual terrorist."

In addition to large-scale extortions from businessmen and professionals, these networks have been implicated in numerous sensational crimes, including the murders of religious and social leaders like Pardeep Kumar and popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. 

The third case, which involved nine raids, is connected to multiple criminal gangs and proscribed terrorist organizations based in India and abroad that have been involved in hatched terror and criminal conspiracies throughout the nation.


According to an NIA spokeswoman, the searches were a part of the agency's ongoing campaign against terrorist organizations, individual terrorists, and support networks that are involved in criminal and terrorist activities within India.