NIA Raids in Punjab Linked to Pro-Khalistan Leader Amarjot

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches in multiple locations across Punjab associated with pro-Khalistan leader Amarjot, brother-in-law of jailed lawmaker Amritpal Singh. The raids are connected to the investigation of an attack on the Indian High Commission in Canada last year. Digital devices, SIM cards, and incriminating documents were seized.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab linked to pro-Khalistan leader Amarjot, who is the brother-in-law of incarcerated lawmaker and radical preacher Amritpal Singh. The investigations are related to a violent attack on the Indian High Commission in Canada last year, officials stated.

NIA teams are scrutinizing digital devices, SIM cards, and suspicious financial-transaction records, along with incriminating documents seized during the operations, as per an official statement.

'In a pan-Punjab crackdown related to the 2023 violent attack by a pro-Khalistani mob at the Indian High Commission in Ottawa (Canada), the NIA on Friday seized several incriminating documents and digital devices during searches at 13 locations,' the statement revealed.

The searches were conducted in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Patiala, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Tarn Taran, and Moga districts, according to the statement issued by the NIA.

The target locations were associated with accused Khalistani leader Amarjot and his aides, it was added.

Amarjot is the brother-in-law of Amritpal Singh, who is held in Assam's Dibrugarh district under the National Security Act, officials noted.

Singh, head of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, has fashioned himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He is also a member of the Lok Sabha representing Punjab's Khadoor Sahib constituency.

Amarjot was named in the FIR registered on June 16 last year by the NIA in connection with the case.

According to the investigation, Amarjot had led protesters who raised anti-India slogans, tied a Khalistani flag on the boundary wall of the high commission, and hurled two grenades into the building on March 23, 2023, the statement elaborated.

'NIA teams are examining various digital devices, including mobile phones, SIM cards, pen drives, iPad, DVR, Hard Disk/SSD, memory cards, as well as suspicious financial transaction records and incriminating documents seized during the searches,' it added.

(With inputs from agencies.)