NIA conducts searches at 15 locations linked to Babbar Khalsa International in Punjab
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday (May 16, 2025) conducted searches on 15 locations linked to banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) in different parts of Punjab, in connection with the grenade attack on a police station in Gurdaspur last December.
'Cracking down further on the activities of the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist group, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday searched 15 locations in Punjab, in connection with the grenade attack on a police station in Gurdaspur district in December last year,' said the agency.
The searches were carried out in the Gurdaspur, Batala, Amritsar, and Kapurthala districts of Punjab, leading to the seizure of various 'incriminating' materials, including mobiles/digital devices and documents.
'On the radar were premises of suspects linked with US-based BKI operative and gangster Harpreet Singh aka Happy Passian and his nodes Shamsher Singh Shera aka Honey along with others based in various countries. A key aide of Pakistan-based BKI terrorist Harwinder Singh aka Rinda, Happy, has been found to be responsible for recently orchestrating numerous grenade attacks on various police stations and police posts in the States of Punjab and Haryana,' it said.
In the U.S.
On April 17, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Enforcement and Removal Operations of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested 'terrorist' Happy Passian in the U.S. He is allegedly involved in the conspiracy behind 16 terror attacks, including 14 grenade attacks in Punjab.
Between 2023 and 2025, the 29-year-old accused also played a central role in orchestrating targeted killings and extortion across Punjab and other States. The NIA had announced a reward of ₹5 lakh for his arrest related to the hand grenade attack on a house in Chandigarh in September 2024.
He had gone to Dubai in April 2018, from where he returned in February 2019 and then went to the United Kingdom in October 2020, before he shifted to the U.S. It is suspected that Passian was initially associated with the members of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang members, after which he came in contact with Rinda.
In the March 2024 Chandigarh grenade attack case, the NIA submitted a chargesheet against four alleged BKI operatives — Rinda, Passian, Rohan Masih, and Vishal Masih.
In the present case related to the hand grenade attack on Ghanie Ke Bangar police station (Gurdaspur), the NIA had found that those arrested for their role were 'acting on the directions' of Passian, along with Shamsher and other aides.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
7 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Three mothers grieve after honeymoon turns deadly
Indore, What began as a dreamy honeymoon for an Indore-based couple in Meghalaya has unravelled into a sordid saga of murder and betrayal, leaving three families heartbroken. The shocking death of 29-year-old Indore transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi has ripped open a dark secret, plunging three mothers into unimaginable grief. As Meghalaya Police peel the layers of this horrific crime, the narrative points to a "murder of trust" within the most intimate of relationships. According to Meghalaya Police, Sonam was allegedly involved in the conspiracy to murder her husband Raja Raghuvanshi with her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha. The duo had hired three killers to execute the plan. Uma Raghuvanshi stands by her son Raja's garlanded photograph, her face a mask of grief and bewildered anger. "Initially, we couldn't believe that my daughter-in-law Sonam could get my son Raja killed," she told PTI, her voice trembling. "But we are slowly starting to believe it now." The questions that haunt her is, "If Sonam liked another boy, why didn't she refuse to marry Raja? Why did she kill my son?" The two got married on May 11 and left for honeymoon on May 20. During the probe, it emerged that Sonam herself had planned the trip to Meghalaya. "I didn't know that my son would return from Meghalaya as a dead body," Uma said while crying inconsolably and recalling the warm send-off the day the couple left, little knowing that it would turn into a tragic farewell. The family was completely unaware of Raj Kushwaha's existence before the Meghalaya police investigated the case. Miles away from Raja's residence, in a small rented house in Indore, Raj Kushwaha's mother, Chunni Devi, is also inconsolable, along with her three daughters. "My son is innocent. He has been framed. How can a 20-year-old boy commit such a big crime? He is the only breadwinner in our house after my husband passed away," she told PTI. She also claimed that her son even attended Raja Raghuvanshi's funeral procession and returned home in tears. "My son was saddened by Raja Raghuvanshi's death and even went to his funeral procession. After returning from the funeral procession, he was crying a lot. I had consoled him that everything will be fine and what is the use of crying now," the mother of the alleged main conspirator said. Sonam's maternal home in Indore's Govind Nagar Kharcha area is in a different kind of shock. Her family runs a business dealing in Sunmica sheets, where Raj Kushwaha, a 12th-grade dropout, worked as an accountant. Sonam's mother, Sangeeta, was reluctant to speak to the media. "False allegations are being made against my daughter. I cannot say right now what might have happened to Raja Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya?" she muttered. The mother of Sonam, the alleged main accused, demanded that there should be a detailed investigation into the murder of her son-in-law. Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam were reported missing on May 23 and days later, the body of the newlywed groom was discovered on June 2 in a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra, also known as Cherrapunji, in the East Khasi Hills district. Sonam surrendered to the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district, while Raj Kushwaha and three other accused were apprehended in various parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The Special Investigation Team constituted by the Meghalaya Police is probing every detail of this case. However, for the three mothers whose lives have been irrevocably shattered, the tears continue to flow.
Deccan Herald
22 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
MLC Ivan D'Souza questions Centre for 'selective' probe by NIA into murders in Dakshina Kannada
Referring to the Union Home Ministry handing over the probe into the murder of Hindu activist and rowdy sheeter Suhas Shetty to National Investigation Agency (NIA), MLC Ivan D'Souza asked why only one case was referred to NIA.
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
Robert Vadra skips ED summons in PMLA case linked to Sanjay Bhandari
Robert Vadra , the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra , on Tuesday skipped an ED summons for questioning in a money laundering case linked to UK-based alleged arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari , official sources said. The sources said Vadra sought an adjournment of Tuesday's summons, and he will now be given a fresh date. The ED wants to record Vadra's statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and then file a chargesheet against him before the court, sources said. The federal probe agency had questioned the 56-year-old businessman for three consecutive days in April in a separate money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a 2008 land deal in Haryana. Bhandari (63) fled to London in 2016, soon after the Income Tax Department raided him in Delhi. Live Events A UK court earlier this month refused an application filed by the Indian government seeking permission to appeal in Britain's Supreme Court against the discharge of Bhandari in an extradition case , virtually ruling out chances of him being brought to the country to face the law. The ED filed a chargesheet in this case in 2023, alleging that Bhandari acquired the 12, Bryanston Square house in London in 2009 and got it renovated "as per the directions of Robert Vadra, who provided the funds for the renovation". Vadra has denied that he owns any London property directly or indirectly. Terming the charges a "political witch hunt", Vadra said he was being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. The ED is also investigating Vadra in a separate money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in a land deal in Rajasthan's Bikaner. The federal probe agency had previously questioned Vadra and his mother, Maureen, in this case.
