NIA cracks whip on arms smugglers, raids 9 sites in Punjab, Haryana, UP

In a massive crackdown on the terror-gangster syndicate involved in the smuggling of arms and ammunition into the country, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted extensive searches at nine premises linked with associates of Davinder Bambiha syndicate in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

NIA teams searched the premises of suspects in the case in Palwal, Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana, Jalandhar district of Punjab and Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, the agency said.

A host of incriminating materials, including mobile phones, digital devices, banking transactions and property-related documents, were seized during the searches, the statement issued by the probe agency said.

Bambiha, a notorious gangster, was killed in a police encounter in 2016, officials said. The Bambiha gang members are considered rivals of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates, they said.

Wednesday’s searches were part of the NIA’s continuous crackdown on terror outfits engaged in criminal conspiracies to smuggle terrorist hardware, such as arms, ammunition, narcotics, explosives, etc. into India, the probe agency said.

NIA investigations in the case, registered on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, further show large-scale attempts by these organisations and terrorists to raise funds for carrying out terror acts on Indian soil, it said.

‘Bid to raise funds for terror acts’

NIA investigations in the case, registered on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, further show large-scale attempts by these organisations and terrorists to raise funds for carrying out terror acts on Indian soil, it said.