NIA searches 14 locations in Punjab, Haryana in Indian Consulate attacks’ case (Ld)
New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) Moving ahead in its probe into the attacks on the Indian consulate in San Francisco, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday carried out searches at 14 locations across Punjab and Haryana.
A NIA spokesperson here said that the anti-terror probe agency sleuths on Wednesday carried out searches at 14 locations in the two North Indian states in a bid to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the March 19, 2023 and July 2, 2023 attacks, involving criminal trespass, vandalism, damage to public property and attempts to cause hurt to the Consulate officials and set the Consulate building on fire through acts of arson.
The locations raided by the NIA on Wednesday were spread across the districts of Moga, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Patiala in Punjab, and Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar in Haryana, the official said.
The searches led to the seizure of digital data containing information related to the accused persons, along with other incriminating documents, the official said.
He said that the agency has been probing the case with the aim to identify and prosecute the attackers and send a strong message to such anti-India elements.
A NIA team had visited San Francisco in the US in August this year to investigate the attacks on the Consulate which led to fear among the Consulate staff and the community.
The official said that as part of its investigations, the NIA has crowd sourced information to identify and collect information about US-based entities and individuals involved in these violent incidents.
The agency has already identified certain individuals who were part of the conspiracy behind the repeated attacks. These include the attackers and many of their associates, who are both Indian and foreign nationals.
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco was attacked on March 19 by a group of assailants who committed criminal trespass, damaged public property, and attacked officials of the Consulate.
Prior to this attack, on the same day, some attackers attempted to set the Consulate building on fire by sprinkling inflammable substances early in the morning. Subsequently on July 2, at midnight, a few persons attempted to set the Consulate building on fire.
–IANS
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