New Delhi: In a major operation to dismantle a suspected Khalistani terror network, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out coordinated raids at 18 locations across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. The searches targeted operatives linked to banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and its global handlers, as part of an ongoing probe into a series of terror-related incidents in northern India.
According to NIA officials, the raids led to the seizure of a cache of incriminating materials including mobile phones, digital storage devices, and documents that are now being scrutinized for evidence.
The crackdown focused on individuals associated with BKI operative Kulbir Sidhu, currently based in Germany, and US-based gangster Manish alias Kaka Rana. Both are believed to be operating in coordination with international Khalistani handlers. Sidhu, originally from Yamunanagar in Haryana, is a close associate of designated terrorist and BKI chief Wadhawa Singh Babbar, who is based in Pakistan.
Kulbir Sidhu has also been named in an earlier NIA case involving the murder of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar in Nangal, Punjab, in April 2024.
Officials confirmed that the network under investigation is suspected of being behind a grenade attack on the residence of former Punjab minister Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar. The incident occurred on April 7, 2025, and the attacker, Saidul Ameen, was arrested by state police five days later. The NIA later took over the case on April 12.
The wide-reaching operation included multiple districts:
• In Punjab: Raids were carried out in Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar, Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, and Mansa.
• In Haryana: NIA teams searched locations in Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Karnal, and Ambala.
• In Uttar Pradesh: A key location in Amroha district was also raided.
These searches are part of the NIA’s continued effort to track down and neutralize BKI operatives and their Indian networks working on the instructions of handlers based in Pakistan, the US, and Europe.
Officials said the grenade attack on the former minister’s residence was part of a larger series of violent acts planned and executed by the BKI to create unrest in Punjab and nearby regions. Investigators believe that these attacks were being coordinated from abroad, with instructions being relayed through encrypted digital channels.
The NIA is currently analysing the recovered digital evidence and documents to trace financial transactions, communication patterns, and links to other terror incidents.
With the probe into the terror module still underway, more arrests and searches are expected in the coming days. The NIA reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling cross-border terror networks and said the agency would leave no stone unturned in identifying every operative involved.
This crackdown comes as part of India’s intensified counter-terrorism operations amid growing concerns over foreign-funded radical networks attempting to destabilize internal security through targeted attacks and extremist propaganda.
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