NIA raids in Punjab, Haryana, UP to probe Khalistani terror network           

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted a series of searches across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to probe Khalistani terror network, officials said.

NIA teams launched searches at 18 locations in the three northern states in the morning. They seized various incriminating materials, including mobiles, digital devices and documents, officials said.

The searches were conducted on the premises of suspects linked with banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative Kulbir Sidhu, US-based gangster Manish alias Kaka Rana, and their nodes based in India and various other countries, according to a statement issued by the probe agency.

Sidhu, originally from Yamunanagar in Haryana, is currently in Germany and is a key aide of designated terrorist and BKI chief Wadhawa Singh Babbar, who is based in Pakistan, it said.

Sidhu is also an accused in the NIA case related to the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Vikas Prabhakar in Nangal, Punjab, in April 2024.

The searches were conducted as part of the NIA's ongoing investigation into the recent BKI-linked grenade attack at the residence of former Punjab minister Manoranjan Kalia.

"The terror attack on the Punjab ex-minister's house in Jalandhar was committed on the night of April 7 by accused Saidul Ameen, who was arrested by the state police on April 12," the statement said.

This was one of the series of grenade attacks carried out by BKI operatives in Punjab, on the directions of foreign-based handlers of the proscribed terrorist organisation, it added.

While in Punjab, searches were carried out in Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar, Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Mansa districts, in Haryana, the NIA teams cracked down in the districts of Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Karnal and Ambala.

Extensive searches were also conducted in Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh, the anti-terror agency said.

The NIA, which took over the probe from the state police on April 12, is continuing with its investigation in the case, it added.