NIA attaches 4 properties of Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate members in 3 states
New Delhi, Jan 6: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday attached four properties owned by members of the Lawrence Bishnoi organised terror-crime syndicate in three states, an official said.
This action is another major step towards demolishing the terrorist-gangster-drug smuggler nexus in the country, the spokesperson of the federal agency said.
The properties -- three immovable and one movable -- were attached in a coordinated action in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the official said.
The spokesperson said the NIA found that all these properties were "proceeds of terrorism" and used for hatching terror conspiracies and executing serious crimes. The attached properties include a flat at the Gomti Nagar Extension in Lucknow, which belonged to Vikas Singh, a harbourer of the terror gang in Uttar Pradesh.
Two other properties attached in the action are located in Bhishanpura village in Punjab's Fazilka and these are owned by accused Dalip Kumar alias "Bhola" alias "Dalip Bishnoi", the spokesperson said and added that an SUV, registered in the name of Joginder Singh of Yamunanagar in Haryana, was also seized.
Citing findings of investigations, the official said Vikas Singh is an associate of Lawrence Bishnoi who has harboured terrorists, including those involved in the rocket-propelled grenade attack on the Punjab Police headquarters in December 2022.
Joginder Singh, the father of gangster Kala Rana, a close associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, was facilitating the syndicate's members by allowing them to use his SUV for transporting arms and ammunition for promoting terrorist acts, the official said.
The property belonging to accused Dalip Kumar was being used as a shelter or warehouse for storing and concealing weapons, and also for harbouring terrorist group members, the spokesperson said.
The NIA had registered a case against the organised crime syndicate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates under the UA(P)A in August 2022.
The agency's investigations showed that the gang had its mafia-style criminal networks in several states of the country.
Members of these networks were involved in many sensational crimes such as the murders of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala and religious and social leaders like Pardeep Kumar, the official said and added that they were also involved in large-scale extortions from businessmen and professionals.
The official said investigations have also revealed that many terror conspiracies were masterminded from abroad, including Pakistan and Canada, or by leaders of organised terror syndicates operating from prisons in India.
The spokesperson said as part of its efforts to disrupt and dismantle such terror and mafia networks and their support infrastructure, the NIA has adopted several targeted strategies in recent months, including attachment and seizure of properties derived from "proceeds of terrorism".
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J-K: Six held with drugs, assets worth Rs 73 lakh attached in Udhampur
Jammu (PTI): Six persons were taken into custody during an intensified anti-narcotics crackdown, with police recovering contraband substances and over Rs 23 lakh in Doda and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday.
In a parallel action, properties worth over Rs 73 lakh linked to drug peddlers were also attached in Udhampur district under relevant legal provisions, the police said.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Doda, Mohd Aslam said three persons, including a woman, were detained during a raid on a house at Dak Mohalla in the main town following recovery of 85 grams of suspected brown sugar and over Rs 23 lakh on Sunday evening.
He identified the woman as Zareena Begum, stating that she had been under police surveillance following inputs indicating her involvement in drug peddling.
Besides Zareena, officials said her daughter and son-in-law were also picked up by police during the raid.
“We have taken three individuals into custody. Their roles are being examined, and based on that, arrests will be made. We are continuing raids at other suspected locations,” Aslam said.
Three drug peddlers --Pardeep Singh of Hiranagar, Rahees Butt of Billawar and Ali Sen of Amritsar (Punjab) -- were arrested along with heroin at different places in Kathua district, a police spokesman said.
He said while 2.79 gm of heroin was seized from Singh, 2.66 gm were recovered Butt. Similarly, 303 gm of heroin was seized from Sen who was intercepted near Berrian-Pattan village while moving in a private car from Bhagthali to Maggar Khad on the Jammu-Pathankot highway.
All the three were booked under the NDPS Act and further investigations are on, the spokesman said.
In Udhampur, the spokesman said properties worth Rs 73 lakh were attached in two separate cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The attached properties included a newly constructed residential house, a car, a motorcycle and a mobile phone with a total value of Rs 65 Lakh, belonging to accused Saif Ali who was booked under the NDPS case in Majalta area early this year, he said.
In another action, movable property worth Rs 8 lakh comprising a car, belonging to accused Danish Butt of Doda has been attached under Section 68(F) NDPS Act in connection with an FIR registered at Rehambal police station, the spokesman said.
