The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has attached one property belonging to terrorists, gangsters, On Ground workers, and financers every fourth day since 2019 under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
According to official data, NIA has attached 392 properties and confiscated 11 from different parts of the country.
Interestingly, the maximum properties attached are neither from Punjab nor from Jammu and Kashmir, but from Ranchi, which makes up for almost 50 per cent of the total attachment.
According to a senior NIA official, property attachment figures of the Ranchi branch are high as most of them belong to Naxal sympathisers or supporters.
Majority of the properties are money kept in bank accounts. The official said while Maoists do not operate the accounts, their ‘financers’ use them to fund Naxalism. Properties sized by NIA in Jammu stand at 99, followed by Punjab (33). Kochi, which was the epicentre of banned organisation PFI, saw eight properties being confiscated.
Properties attached
NIA attached properties, including 46 kanal agricultural land in Khankot village of Amritsar and 1/4th share of a Chandigarh house belonging to Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Pannun, who operates from the United States and Canada, has been on the NIA’s radar since 2019.
Last week, NIA attached four properties owned by members of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Kupwara region of Jammu and Kashmir. A day before, NIA had said the agency attached six immovable properties of a top militant of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in J&K as part of its drive to dismantle the terrorism infrastructure in Kashmir and other parts of India.
In March, the agency attached several immovable properties belonging to two accused in a Punjab narco-terror case involving the killing of Shaurya Chakra awardee Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu by agents of the banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).
In another major step towards demolishing the terrorist-gangster-drug smuggler nexus in the country, NIA in January had attached four properties owned by members of dreaded gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s organised terror-crime syndicate. The properties included three immovable and one movable.
This year in January, NIA attached the property of accused Aamir Mushtaq Ganaie, identified as one of the masterminds in the case of larger conspiracy relating to drone dropping of weapons and money by a Pakistan-based module operating in J&K. The property was attached as ‘proceeds of terrorism’ by an NIA team in Kiran Colony in Chanapore region of Srinagar.
Explore in-depth coverage of Lok Sabha Election 2024 Schedule, Voter Turnout, Upcoming Phase And Much More At News18 Website
Comments
0 comment