Terror-mafia nexus: Incarcerated terrorists & gangsters united behind bars, shows NIA probe

NEW DELHI: The terrorist-gangster syndicate continues to operate on an international level from within the Indian jails despite the arrest of gangsters in the country.

Their connection with pro-Khalistan elements became evident when jail authorities last month recovered a smartphone with SIM, a keypad phone, a TV remote with keyboard, a spy cam pen, pen drives, Bluetooth headphones, speakers and a smartwatch from jailed pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh, said the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In this part, ET takes a look at how a gangster syndicate along with suspected terrorists continue to operate inside the jails.


How jails have become safe dens
The management and administration of prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the state governments. Several instances of lapses by jail authorities have been reported in the past involving the terrorist-gangster syndicate members. The NIA, after a year-long probe, said most of these gangsters got arrested and remained in jail for a considerable period in different jails. They came in contact with other gangs who had no conflict of interest among themselves.

To grow and increase their area of influence, these individual gangs formed a gangster syndicate and got involved in extortion and killing over a wider area in different states, it said.

The agency traced back the merger of gangster syndicates after 2016 when Kaushal Chaudhary and Amit Dagar, who were operating their gang in Haryana, gave shelter to Punjab's known gangster Devender Bambiha in Gurgaon. Thereafter, Bambiha developed a close association with the gang of Chaudhary and Dagar. The members of different gangs, including those of Neeraj Bawana, Naveen Bali and Tillu Tajpuria, started developing an association with the members of the Bambiha gang inside as well as outside different jails. "The extortion money received was just a byproduct of this influence as most of them had already established sustainable extortion rackets in their respective areas before becoming inter-state gangster-criminal syndicate," said the NIA.

Rivalry between Bishnoi and Chaudhary gangs
In 2018, Lawrence Bishnoi gang tried to kill Haryana-based gangster Kaushal Chaudhary and Amit Dagar. Two years later, Dagar, when he was lodged in R hini Jail, made contact with Gaurav Patyal on WhatsApp. Dagar told Patyal to increase the area of influence of the syndicate by joining hands with the Punjab-based gangs who had a rivalry with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. In 2021, when Dagar was lodged in Tihar jail, he developed a friendship with accused Bhupinder Singh, associate of Bambiha gang. Thus, the members of Punjab-based Bambiha gang met other gangs operating in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan and started working together to execute their plans, with the intention of increasing their area of influence and operations. Their interaction, meeting and continuous conversation by using mobile phones from jails led to many major incidents, the agency said. In 2021, a youth leader of Shiromani Akali Dal, Vicky Middhukhera, was killed by the members of Kaushal Chaudhary and Bhupinder Singh's gangs. The conspiracy of murder was hatched by Gaurav Patyal and Dinesh Sharma, both based abroad, and Dagar, who was lodged in the jail at the time, according to the NIA. Again, in 2022, kabbadi player Sundeep Nangal Ambia was murdered by Chaudhary-Bambiha gang for which the conspiracy was hatched in jail by Chaudhary and Dagar, with help from Sukhdool Singh based in Canada. Singh was shot dead in Canada in 2023.

In a span of two-three years, Punjab-based Bambiha group and its affiliate gangs wreaked havoc in northern India with killings of prominent personalities. They indulged in killings of kabaddi players and political functionaries to increase their influence. They terrorised people and carried out extortion from politicians, builders, businessmen and singers, as per the NIA. The agency said each truck operator has to pay the gang Rs 1.25 lakh per month. In addition, the generator operator, who operates his generator in the market, must pay Rs 1 lakh per month. In 2021, the gang carried out the murder of Jitender Gogi, affiliated to Lawrence Bishnoi, before a judicial officer in Rohini Court complex. The gang members were also involved in grabbing disputed lands to gather funds for the gang to meet the expenses and to buy new weapons as well, said the NIA.

Association with pro-Khalistan elements
Canada-based Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dalla, with the help of accused Naveen Dabas of Chaudhary-Bawana gang, conspired for cross-border delivery of sophisticated weapons using drones, said the NIA. It said the plan was to use weapons to terrorise singers and carry out killings of Shiv Sena and RSS leaders. Dalla from Canada facilitates extortion by putting phones together on speaker mode and the gang members extend threat to the victims in the name of Neeraj Bawana and Kaushal Chaudhary's gangs. Dalla has also been conspiring for cross-border supply of sophisticated arms and ammunition, through the India-Pakistan border. He has also attempted to arrange finances for Khalistan Tiger force in collusion with co-accused Bambiha-Chaudhary gangs, the agency said. During its probe, the agency said it found that accused persons have resorted to threatening witnesses to make the legal process ineffective so that they may perpetually continue to commit terrorist acts. Dalla, with the help of Bambiha-Chaudhary gang, have developed networks in Canada, US, Europe, West Asia, Thailand, Dubai and Philippines. It has also come to light that jail-based associates including Bhupinder Singh, Kaushal Chaudhary and Amit Dagar have established their own control rooms abroad to increase their areas of influence, according to the NIA.