Slain gangster associated with Khalistan to run syndicate from Canada

India's wanted gangster Sukhdool Singh, who was fatally shot last month in northwest Winnipeg city in Canada, was associated with terrorist entities like designated Khalistani terrorist Arsh Dala for acquiring sophisticated weapons to run his syndicate.

India's federal probe agency National National Investigation Agency (NIA) had mentioned the fact in one of its charge sheets filed in a special court in Delhi in March this year naming Sukhdool and 21 others.

As per the charge sheet, Sukhdool, who also went by the alias Sukh Duneke and was known as a notorious criminal in India for allegedly organizing hits on rival gang members there, and a few gang members such as Gaurav Patyal fled India and ran their syndicate from abroad.

"To run their gangster syndicate they needed sophisticated weapons. Hence they got associated with terrorist entities like Arsh Dala who is a designated individual terrorist and works closely with Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). Arsh Dalla and KTF work against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India," reads the charge sheet.

A resident of Duneka village in Punjab's Moga district, Sukhdool, 40, was shot dead in the Canadian city of Winnipeg by unidentified people, with officials terming it "a result of inter-gang rivalry".Sukhdool's killing came amidst diplomatic tensions between India and Canad over the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar by unidentified assailants in British Columbia's Surrey in June 2023.

In the charge sheet, the NIA has stated that the criminal syndicates in the quest for sophisticated weapons, started using the money generated through their existing extortion rackets to fund the procurement of sophisticated weapons not only from within the country but also from across the border with the help of Khalistani associates.

"In return, these criminal syndicates started carrying out targeted killings and extortions for the Khalistani associates. This created a symbiotic terrorist-gangster network between gangster and Khalistani elements. With most of the associates of the Khalistani network either being based abroad or lodged inside jails, their requirement of the shooters to carry out targeted killings is being met by the cadres of this syndicate who in turn gets sophisticated weapons from across the border with help of Khalistan associates" the charge sheet read.

Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, named as the number one accused in the chargesheet, Gaurav Patyal, Sukhdool Singh and other key members of the terrorist syndicate have their networks in Canada, USA, Europe, the Middle East, Thailand, Dubai and the Philippines, the charge-sheet mentioned.

It has also been revealed during the NIA investigation that their jail-based associates like Bhupi Rana, Sukhpreet Singh, Kaushal Choudhary, and Amit Dagar-- all named in the charge sheet, have established their own control rooms abroad to increase their area of influence.

Amit Dagar and Kaushal Choudhary have their associates like Dinesh Gandhi, Daler Quote and Neeraj Pandit-- other accused named in the charge sheet-- in different countries to run the syndicate smoothly.

"The accused persons based abroad are operating the syndicates by using virtual mobile numbers to evade Law Enforcement Agencies whereas accused persons lodged in Indian jails are running syndicate operations through mobile phones," states the charge sheet.

The charge sheet filed in the NIA case (RC-38/2022/NIA/DLI) pertains to a criminal conspiracy, hatched by the members of the criminal syndicate Gaurav Patyal, Sourav Thakur Sukhdool Singh, Gurpinder Singh, Kaushal, Neeraj Sehrawat alias Neeraj Bawana, Sunil Balyan alias Tillu Tajpuria, Amit Dagar, Bhupinder Singh and their associates, based in India and abroad to carry out terrorist acts in Delhi and other parts of the country.

These accused had conspired to recruit youths to commit terrorist acts in India with an intention to strike terror in the minds of people, pointed out the charge sheet, adding "These gang members along with their other associates were planning to carry out terror activities in Delhi and different parts of the country by executing targeted killings, using lethal Firearms and explosives."

"The terrorist gang members were using cyberspace and social media to publicize these crimes to create widespread terror amongst the public at large. Some of the gang leaders members are operating from jail and others are absconding and operating from different parts of India and foreign countries" read the chargesheet.

The case was originally registered by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on August 7 last year.

Appreciating the gravity of the offence and its international ramifications in the instant crime, the Central government directed the National Investigation Agency to take over the investigation on August 26 last year.