NIA Team To Probe Pro-Khalistani Protests In UK; Will Brief British Police Soon

New Delhi: A probe team of the NIA left for the United Kingdom on Monday to probe the pro-Khalistani protests during which the protesters allegedly pulled down the national flag at the Indian high commission in London on March 19.

According to sources, a team of four to five persons have departed to investigate the case. This is the first instance in which the NIA will be conducting a probe on British soil and the visiting team is said to be carrying a list of those with Khalistani links in the city, which is likely to be shared with the Scotland Yard, sources added.

The Indian probe agency will also conduct a forensic examination of the CCTV footage installed in and around the high commission and also seek the cooperation of the British agencies to interrogate the Khalistani supporters living there.

Sources also said that the team will provide evidence against Avtar Singh Khanda, who is believed to be roaming freely in London, allegedly holds the key to the trans-national Khalistan conspiracy that led to the rise of arrested radical preacher Amritpal Singh.

Amritpal was arrested by the Punjab police after giving a dodge for many weeks and is currently lodged in the Guwahati Central Jail.

The NIA probe in the UK is focused on unravelling a larger conspiracy by pro-Khalistan groups operating on foreign soil to destabilise Punjab and create unrest in the country, they added.

Pro-Khalistani protestors had pulled down the national flag while holding protests outside the high commission on March 19 this year, a day after the Punjab police launched a crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab on March 18.

The national anti-terror probe agency took over the case after a recommendation from the counter terrorism and counter radicalisation division of the Union home ministry and took over the case from the special cell of the Delhi Police. The Delhi police had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act as it involves unlawful activities carried out by certain people holding Indian nationality abroad.