NIA crackdown on foreign-based Khalistani terrorist cases saw 14 arrests, 101 searches in 2024
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) achieved a cent per cent conviction rate in 2024, as 68 accused were convicted in 25 cases, while 408 others were chargesheeted.
A total of 210 accused were arrested in 80 criminal cases registered by NIA in 2024. Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and Northeast insurgency topped the list with 28 and 18 cases, respectively.
The crackdown on the terrorist-gangster nexus was also a key highlight of the year. NIA arrested 14 accused in connection with foreign-based Khalistani terrorist cases, which saw 101 searches.
Dismantling terror, gangster networksA total of 137 properties and assets worth Rs 19.57 crore were attached during the year as part of the agency’s sustained efforts to dismantle terrorist, gangster and other criminal networks. Twenty eight cases of LWE were registered, and 12 chargesheets filed against 64 accused in this category.
The total searches carried out across all kinds of cases in 2024 stood at 662. Thirteen arrests were made in gangster-related cases during the year.
The agency’s efforts in cracking terrorism cases were evident in the fact that it had chargesheeted Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Wadhawa Singh, alias Babbar, and five other terrorists in the murder of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar in Punjab within months of the fatal attack.
Similarly, 10 accused, including foreign-based terrorist Goldy Brar, were expeditiously chargesheeted in the case pertaining to firing for extortion at the house of a businessman in Chandigarh. NIA also chargesheeted Khalistan Terrorist Force (KTF) members Manpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh after their successful deportation from the Philippines.
NIA further secured the conviction of four terrorists, including chief conspirator Kulwinderjeet Singh, in a terror conspiracy case related to BKI. Kulwinderjeet was involved in many terrorist cases, including a conspiracy to carry out targeted killings in Punjab. He was also involved in a bomb blast at Connaught Place and a grenade attack at Red Fort, Delhi, in the 1990s.
Another notable development in the Khalistani terror-related cases was the successful extradition of Tarsem Singh Sandhu of Tarn Taran district of Punjab from UAE, in a case of conspiracy to wage a war against the country. As many as 69 arrests of the total 210 arrests were in LWE-related cases in 2024.
NIA cracked the Rameshwaram café blast case, which rocked the nation early in the year, within a matter of months. Five accused were arrested and four chargesheeted in this high-profile case.
The national agency registered seven J&K Jihadi cases, followed by six explosive substances and five human trafficking cases. NIA further registered four Khalistani and two ISIS Jihadi cases, and one case each in gangsters, cyberterrorism, FICN and others categories.
A total of 137 properties and assets worth Rs 19.57 crore were attached during the year as part of the agency’s sustained efforts to dismantle terrorist, gangster and other criminal networks. Twenty eight cases of LWE were registered, and 12 chargesheets filed against 64 accused in this category.
Northeast insurgency was also high on NIA’s radar with 15 arrests. The Independence Day boycott call by ULFA(I) in Assam saw the arrest of five accused in two separate cases.
As far as extraditions secured by NIA are concerned, another accused, Salman Khan, was brought in from Rwanda in an arms seizure case of Bengaluru.
Cases of weapons recovery and seizure were reported from across the country, including Jammu, Jaipur, Ranchi, Patna and Chandigarh. In one of the cases, arms and ammunition and other incriminating materials were seized from a car driver working as an overground worker of the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit. The arrest of 11 Islamic State Jihadis, five J&K Jihadis and 24 other Jihadis marked another major step forward for the agency.
A total of 27 absconding criminals were nabbed by NIA during the year. Notable among them was Savad, who was nabbed after being on the run for 13 years in the Kerala professor hand chopping case.
