NIA arrests aide of pro-KTF operatives

Chandigarh: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a close associate of two operatives of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) — Canada-based Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala and Philippines-based Manpreet Singh alias Peeta.
The NIA nabbed Gagandeep Singh alias Miti on Tuesday, while conducting raids in Haryana and Punjab. He is the fifth person to be arrested as part of NIA’s crackdown on the organised crime syndicate and network being operated by Dala and Peeta in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. He was arrested in a case related to the terror activities of members of banned pro-Khalistan terror organisations in which the NIA had suo motu registered a case last year. The NIA had arrested Lucky Khokhar alias Denis from Ganganagar in February, Jassa Singh of Moga on May 18, while Amritpal Singh alias Ammy of Moga and Amrik Singh of Ferozepur were picked up from the IGI Airport in New Delhi on May 19.
Dala is currently based in Canada and was declared a proclaimed offender by the NIA special court in Mohali on Monday in a priest murder conspiracy case. Peeta has been living in the Philippines.
The NIA investigations revealed that Miti had been working for Dala and Peeta and was supporting them in smuggling weapons from across the border. He was also part of an extortion racket for raising funds for the banned KTF. Dala and Peeta have been continuously recruiting new cadres in India to carry out the activities of the terror group. All the accused are working at the behest of KTF’s self-styled chief Harjit Nijjar, currently based in Canada, who was designated as an ‘individual terrorist’ by the MHA in July 2020. The NIA spokesperson said that KTF and other banned terror outfits like Khalistan Liberation Force, Babbar Khalsa International and International Sikh Youth Federation have been engaged in promoting terror across India. Their activities include smuggling of terrorist hardware across international borders for carrying out terrorist acts.