The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday attached four properties owned by members of Lawrence Bishnoi’s organized terror-crime syndicate, the investigation agency has said.
The properties, including three immovable and one movable, were attached in a coordinated swoop by the NIA teams in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, said the agency.
According to the federal agency, properties were attached under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
As per the NIA, these were found to be proceeds of terrorism, and allegedly used for hatching terror conspiracies and executing serious crimes.
The properties attached include a flat in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar Extension, belonging to Vikas Singh, the alleged harbourer of the gang in UP’s capital.
The two other properties attached were located in village Bishanpura, Fazilka, Punjab owned by accused Dalip Kumar alias Bhola alias Dalip Bishnoi.
The agency has also attached one vehicle which was seized from Haryana’s Yamunanagar.
As per NIA investigations, Vikas Singh is an associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, who has harboured terrorists including accused persons involved in a RPG attack on Punjab Police Headquarters.
The car that has been attached belongs to Lawrence Bishnoi’s associate Kala Rana’s father and was being allegedly used for the purpose of transporting arms and ammunition for promoting acts of terror.
The property belonging to accused Dalip Kumar was being used as a warehouse for storage and concealment of weapons, and also for harbouring gang members, the NIA said.
The NIA had registered a case against the organised crime syndicate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his associates under UA(PJA in August 2022.
The agency’s investigations showed that the gang had spread its mafia style criminal networks in several states of the country.
These networks were involved in many sensational crimes, such as the murders of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala as well as religious and social leaders besides large-scale extortions from businessmen and professionals
The NIA investigations have further revealed that many of these terror conspiracies were masterminded from abroad, including Pakistan and Canada, or by leaders of organised terror syndicates operating from prisons across India.