NIA raids multiple locations in Punjab associated with Amritpal’s relative

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab associated with pro-Khalistan leader Amarjot, the brother-in-law of jailed lawmaker and radical preacher Amritpal Singh, and his aides in connection with its probe into an attack on the Indian High Commission in Canada last year, officials said.

NIA teams are examining digital devices, SIM cards and suspicious financial-transaction records, besides incriminating documents seized during the searches, according to an official statement.

“In a pan-Punjab crackdown in connection with the 2023 violent attack by a pro-Khalistani mob at the Indian High Commission in Ottawa (Canada), the NIA on Friday seized several incriminating documents and digital devices during searches at 13 locations,” it said.

The searches were conducted in the districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Patiala, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Tarn Taran and Moga, said the statement issued by the NIA.

The target locations were connected with accused Khalistani leader Amarjot and his associates, it added.

Amarjot is the brother-in-law of Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in a prison in Assam’s Dibrugarh district under the National Security Act, the officials said.

Singh heads the “Waris Punjab De” outfit and has styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He is a Lok Sabha member from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib constituency.

Amarjot was named in the FIR registered in the case on June 16 last year by the NIA.

According to investigations, Amarjot had led the protesters, who had raised anti-India slogans, tied a Khalistani flag on the boundary wall of the high commission and hurled two grenades inside the building on March 23, 2023, the statement said.

“NIA teams are examining the various digital devices, including mobile phones, SIM cards, pen drives, iPad, DVR, Hard Disk/SSD, memory cards etc., as well the suspicious financial transaction records and incriminating documents seized during the searches,” it added.