The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted multiple raids in Punjab and Haryana as part of its investigation into the attacks on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco.
A total of 14 locations spread across the districts of Moga, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Patiala in Punjab, and Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar in Haryana were raided on Wednesday, the agency said in a statement.
The crackdown has led to the seizure of digital data containing information related to the accused persons, along with other incriminating documents.
The NIA said that the raids were conducted to unravel the conspiracy behind the 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 Consulate General of India in San Francisco was attacked on March 19 by a group of assailants. 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.
“The NIA has been probing the case with the aim to identify and prosecute the attackers and the assailants
of the attacks and send a strong message to such anti-Indian elements,” the statement said.
A team of the anti-terrorism agency had visited San Francisco in August 2023 to investigate the incidents which, it said, had led to fear among the Consulate staff and the community.
NIA has been trying to identify and collect information about US-based entities and individuals involved in these violent incidents. The agency claims to have 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, it said.
