India’s National Investigative Agency (NIA) is reportedly conducting raids at about 50 locations in a massive crackdown on criminal gangs and crime syndicates.
The raids reportedly came days after the NIA registered a case against gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Neeraj Bawana, who had plotted to murder singer Sidhu Moose Wala.
Last week, Punjab's Director-General of Police Gaurav Yadav said, "There is a strong nexus between terror groups and the gangsters arrested in the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case."
According to a NIA preliminary report, gang members are involved in the targeted killing of famous personalities and spreading terror on social media.
Both criminals were using "cyberspace and social media to create fear in public. In addition, these criminals were raising funds through extortions, criminal intimidation and smuggling. The money was also used to finance terror activities and recruit impressionable youth in their gangs in order to escalate such activities," CNN-News18 reported.
"The raids are intended to arrest the local handlers of gangsters involved in terror cases… especially those involved in cross-border smuggling of arms are also on the radar," NDTV news channel reported.
Sidhu Moose Wala Murder
Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was shot more than 30 times in Jawaharke, a village in Mansa District.
Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for the singer's murder in a Facebook post, along with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Bishnoi, 31, is a well-known gangster who has been in police custody since 2020 and has more than 65 criminal cases — extortion, murder and other cases, registered against him.
Bishnoi is allegedly operating a 700-member-gang from the prison.
The Punjab Police, along with Delhi Police, as of now have arrested 23 suspects in connection with Moose Wala's murder.