New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two wanted close associates of Canada-based ‘listed terrorist’ Arsh Dhalla when they arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from Manila, Philippines. The duo, identified as Amritpal Singh alias Ammy and Amritk Singh, both hailing from Punjab, were nabbed in an operation on Friday. Both the accused have been living in Manila.
The duo had non-bailable arrest warrants issued against them by the NIA Delhi Court in a case related to the unlawful and violent activities of banned organisations in India. Several criminal cases have been registered against them in Punjab. The NIA registered a suo moto case (RC-37/2022/NIA/DLI) on August 20 last year under various sections of the IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. NIA investigations revealed that the accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for the banned terrorist organisation Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and also smuggle arms, ammunition and explosives for it from across the border.
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“The accused had been working for individual designated terrorist Arshdeep Singh Dhalla to promote violent criminal activities of the KTF in India. In association with another notorious wanted accused Manpreet Singh alias Peeta, they had been involved in smuggling weapons from Pakistan and recruitment of youth to carry out acts of violence and terror in the country at the behest of the KTF,” an NIA official said.
They were also part of an extortion racket for raising funds for the banned outfit. The accused used to identify extortion targets, including businessmen, and then threaten them into parting with huge amounts, the official said. Referring to the modus operandi to run the extortion business, the official said, “In case the identified targets refused, their homes and other premises would be fired at by the accused’s India-based associates.” The arrests were part of NIA’s continuous crackdown on individual terrorists and terrorist outfits engaged in a criminal conspiracy to smuggle terrorist hardware, such as arms, ammunition and explosives and raise funds for carrying out terrorist acts on Indian soil.
