By Dr Swati Jindal Garg
Giving new meaning to the phrase “power lies within!”, the gangsters of north India are showing how easy it is to run their operations from the safe sanctuary of prison walls. In a recent interview conducted, a gangster, who wished to remain anonymous and is part of a ring operating in the National Capital Region (NCR), revealed how procuring illegal firearms in Delhi is easy as suppliers bring them weapons from MP, Bihar, etc., and hand them over in the capital itself. He also disclosed how the prisons have become “business hubs” for such criminals as everything that is required to run a racket is readily available inside at the “right price”. “A mobile phone, among other things, can be procured in jail for Rs 50,000 to 60,000. All gang leaders have their henchmen outside and they stay in contact. Phones are used to extort money, demand protection money, and threaten businessmen or property dealers,” he said. He also went on to say that jail is a place where many gangsters feel safe as they will not come on the radar of their rivals or police. Moreover, the jail administration and security personnel are also in cahoots, said the outlaw.
Corroborating his story, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country’s primary counter-terrorist task force, in a shocking revelation, as part of its crackdown on the gangster-terrorist nexus syndicate operating in India, has identified several such gangs whose kingpins have been found operating from inside the jails as well as overseas.
Based on the information received by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, the NIA has till now, registered two FIRs against such gangs under Section 18 (Punishment for Conspiracy), Section 18-B (Punishment for Recruiting Any Person or Persons for Terrorist Act) and Section 20 (Punishment for Being a Member of Terrorist Gang or Organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA and Section 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) of the IPC. After conducting three rounds of raids at around 80 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi as well as in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, it was found that the premises covered belonged to gangsters like Canada-based Goldy Brar, who has been detained in the US, Neeraj Bawana, Lawrence Bishnoi, Sunil Maan alias Tillu Tajpuriya, Kala Jathedi, Jitender Gogi and their associates.
The NIA has also clarified that all these gangsters, in collusion with their associates, have been running their operations from different jails in India as well as from Canada, Dubai and Pakistan. The agency also revealed that the goons are now procuring high-end weapons from outside the country and planning to start targeted killings in India in order to strengthen their hold and spread panic. Most of these gangsters are also associated with absconding terrorists and hence their nexus with other terrorist groups cannot be denied.
Such a criminal-drug-peddler-terrorist nexus is not a new phenomenon. It has been there for a long time and is now gaining ground particularly in the context of India-Pakistan and Israel-Palestine. This nexus was first started in India by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the early days of Punjab terrorism as “Operation Topaz”. Due to the absence of fencing on the borders in those early days, several people who inadvertently crossed over the borders due to lack of clarity were arrested and forced to either convert or become terror mercenaries to hit Indian interests. Later on, the ISI started hitting from within the Indian borders by using the Mumbai-based underworld dons, and the result was the Mumbai blasts in which Dawood Ibrahim was found to be the main accused. Security agencies have also recently observed the illegal entry of 191 drones into Indian territory from Pakistan which has again raised major concerns in terms of internal security within the country.
The latest modus of operating from within the prisons seems to be the “third wave” of the same ISI machination. However, to the relief of the authorities, the agencies in India appear to have received some information beforehand, hence are taking strict action in terms of forewarned being forearmed. The process can be said to have started with the permission that was granted due to the Indian government’s decision to allow blacklisted Khalistani operatives to enter India after which several of them came back to India from the US, Canada, Germany and a few other countries and started indulging in terror conspiracies.
Now, in light of the fresh evidence that has unfolded, the NIA has written to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs proposing to shift most of these gang leaders to prisons in south India, starting with the names of 25 gangsters that have been recommended for transfer. Sources have been known to say that these names also include top gangsters like Bishnoi—who is a key accused in the murder of Sidhu Moosewala—Bawana, Tajpuriya and Jathedi.
One of the primary reasons for shifting these gangsters who have been found to be operating smoothly from inside the jails, has been that they would at least have to face the language barrier if they are shifted to south India, thereby making it more difficult for them to operate smoothly. Most officials, however, feel that this move will only grant them a short term respite and might even prove to be counter-productive in the long run as there is the impending danger of these criminals fostering new linkages with highly radicalised operatives of ISIS and PFI who are active in south India. This transfer would then prove to be a catalyst in spreading the disease of these activities.
Then, there are also the problems related to coordination between the centre and the state agencies while shifting the gangsters from one state to the other. In this regard, the NIA is coordinating with the police in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and they are all, as per the statement of an NIA official, cooperating in sharing information and during operations.
The NIA has also stated that in the recent sensational crimes and extortion calls by criminal syndicates and gangsters to businessmen and professionals, including doctors which created widespread scare, cyberspace was being used by these gangs to publicise these crimes and create terror among the public at large, an intention in which they have also succeeded beyond expectations. It has also been found that there was a deep-rooted conspiracy among terrorists, gangsters and drug-smuggling cartels and networks, who were operating from both within and outside the country, to ensure that these plans succeed. Many of the gang leaders who had fled from India are now operating hand-in-glove with those who are settled within the safe confines of jails in India and hatching conspiracies from inside the jails of different states in collusion with an organised network of operatives based abroad. The gangster-terrorist nexus supports each other in the sense that gangsters extort money, and for that they need protection which then is provided by the terror groups.
These criminals have been operating in a manner that spreads the maximum amount of panic among the people. The targeted killings of popular singers like Moosewala are examples of how by ensuring that their acts are made the front page news, the criminals also make sure that they take the maximum benefit of the resulting panic.
According to the NIA, in the instant case, a conspiracy was being hatched by the members of a criminal syndicate/gang based in India and abroad with an intention to raise funds, recruit youth to carry out terrorist acts in Delhi and other parts of the country and these members were further planning to execute heinous crimes, including but not limited to targeted killings of prominent persons, in order to strike terror in the minds of the people of the country. The NIA had also during one of the hearings informed the court that during the police custody examination of the accused Bishnoi, who is the main accused of this case, it has been found that he operates gangs/syndicates to commit terrorist acts in India with the intention to strike terror in the minds of the people.
The life of criminals is such that once they become a part of the trade, going back to normal life no longer remains an option for them. During the course of their life, they make so many enemies, both among the police and rival gangs, that they also fear for their own lives. Revenge is always in play, so the safest place for them is to be inside the jail and operate from there.
Breaking this jail-operated nexus is going to be a tough ask, but the way the NIA is bent upon cracking this case, shifting the gangsters to the south India might just be what is required to break their back!
—The author is an Advocate-on-Record practising in the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and all district courts and tribunals in Delhi