NIA identifies 30 accused involved in attack on Indian embassy in San Francisco

Several individuals from Punjab and Haryana were radicalized online and subsequently sent abroad to carry out the attacks on the Indian consulate in San Francisco. The NIA has identified at least 30 such pro-Khalistan individuals who had vandalised the Indian High Commission in the USA earlier this year, reports ETV Bharat's Gautam Debroy.

New Delhi: Days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 14 locations in Punjab and Haryana to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the March 19 and July 2 attacks on the Indian High Commission in San Francisco, the agency has identified at least 30 Khalistani supporters who vandalised the Indian High Commission in USA.

Sources in the investigative agency told ETV Bharat on Thursday that the identity of the accused has been ascertained through crowdsourcing. The NIA is currently collaborating with authorities in San Francisco to gather information and evidence.

“NIA is in close touch with the authorities in San Francisco. Several people had recently been taken abroad after massive online radicalization,” a senior official from the NIA said. The official said that individuals from Punjab and Haryana were radicalized online and subsequently sent abroad to carry out the attacks on the Indian consulate in San Francisco.

“The youths were influenced to attack the Indian embassy. Most of the alleged attackers were temporary residents of the USA as they were taken there by the Khalistani forces,” the official informed. The anti-terror agency is also looking into the fundraising issue of the Khalistani terrorist organisation.

“The investigation is widening the scope to explore possible links to smuggling, trafficking, and further instances of radicalization,” the official said. The agency had recently raided multiple locations across Punjab and Haryana as part of its continuing investigations into the attacks on the Consulate General of India office.

As part of its investigations, NIA has crowd-sourced information to identify and collect information about US and UK-based entities and individuals involved in these violent incidents. “The agency has already identified certain individuals who were part of the conspiracy behind the repeated attacks. These include the attackers and many of their associates, who are both Indian and foreign nationals,” the official said.

A team of the NIA had also visited San Francisco, USA in August to investigate the incidents of attacks on the Consulate. Notably, the agency had earlier released photos of 10 wanted accused and sought details about them from the public in connection with the attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco.