NIA Raids 31 Locations In Punjab, Haryana To Nab Those Involved In Conspiracy Behind Attack On Indian High Commission In London

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday (1 August) conducted raids at 31 locations in Punjab and Haryana.

The purpose of these raids was to locate those responsible for the conspiracy behind the attack on the High Commission of India in London on 19 March.

The NIA stated that the searches were carried out to identify and arrest all individuals involved in the conspiracy.

In a statement, the anti-terror probe agency said that it 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".

During the raids, the NIA seized digital data related to the accused individuals involved in the attack on the High Commission, as well as other incriminating documents and evidence.

The districts where these searches took place include Moga, Barnala, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Tarn Taran, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, SBS Nagar, Amritsar, Mukhtsar, Sangrur, Patiala, Mohali in Punjab, and Sirsa in Haryana.

The High Commission of India was targeted by a group of 50 pro-Khalistan protesters. These individuals have been accused of committing criminal trespass, disrespecting the Indian National Flag, damaging public property, and causing injuries to High Commission officials.

The NIA investigation has identified the organisers of the attack as Gurcharan Singh of Dal Khalsa, United Kingdom; Avtar Singh Khanda of Khalistan Liberation Force (who recently died); Jasvir Singh, and several of their associates, both Indian and foreign nationals.

Earlier in May, the NIA team traveled to the UK to gather evidence related to the case.

In addition, the agency started a crowdsourcing initiative to gather information about the entities and individuals in the UK who were involved in the incident.

Based on the collected details, the attackers were identified by the agency.