Terror-mafia nexus: Incarcerated terrorists & gangsters united behind bars, shows NIA probe
Their connection with pro-Khalistan elements became evident when jail authorities last month recovered a smartphone with SIM, a keypad phone, a TV remote with keyboard, a spy cam pen, pen drives, Bluetooth headphones, speakers and a smartwatch from jailed pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh, said the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In this part, ET takes a look at how a gangster syndicate along with suspected terrorists continue to operate inside the jails.
How jails have become safe dens
The management and administration of prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the state governments. Several instances of lapses by jail authorities have been reported in the past involving the terrorist-gangster syndicate members. The NIA, after a year-long probe, said most of these gangsters got arrested and remained in jail for a considerable period in different jails. They came in contact with other gangs who had no conflict of interest among themselves.
To grow and increase their area of influence, these individual gangs formed a gangster syndicate and got involved in extortion and killing over a wider area in different states, it said.
The agency traced back the merger of gangster syndicates after 2016 when Kaushal Chaudhary and Amit Dagar, who were operating their gang in Haryana, gave shelter to Punjab's known gangster Devender Bambiha in Gurgaon. Thereafter, Bambiha developed a close association with the gang of Chaudhary and Dagar. The members of different gangs, including those of Neeraj Bawana, Naveen Bali
