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New Delhi: On Tuesday, an official said that the Enforcement Directorate conducted several raids in Haryana and Rajasthan as part of a money laundering investigation against the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. ED is also searching places linked to Goldie Brar’s associates. Bishnoi, currently in jail, is one of the accused in the murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala.
The central probe agency is conducting raids at around a dozen places in both the states as part of the investigation being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED is probing allegations that Lawrence Bishnoi and his gang were channeling money earned in India through extortion and drug and arms smuggling to Canada and other countries to be used by supporters of Khalistan.
The Enforcement Directorate’s action stems from FIRs and charge sheets filed against Bishnoi and his deputy Satwinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Haryana Police and some other state police. The ED has started its investigation to find out how the gangsters are involved in money laundering and how they use the illegal money for their activities. How drug money is being sent abroad from India.
The Enforcement Directorate is probing the charges that Bishnoi and his gang members were allegedly sending funds generated in India through extortion and smuggling of drugs and arms to Canada and other countries that was being used by pro-Khalistan supporters. Bishnoi, who hails from Fazilka in Punjab, has been in jail since 2014. He was arrested by the Rajasthan Police after the encounter. He was brought to Tihar Jail in 2021. He was later arrested on 14 January 2022 by the Punjab Police on charges of murdering singer Sidhu Moosewa.
NIA has raided many places in Haryana. This raid was carried out by the associates of Surendra alias Chiku gangster. Former sarpanch Rampura Naresh, Ankush Goyal and Vineet Chaudhary in Narnaul, Haryana have been raided in Dadri district. He was later arrested by the Punjab Police on June 14, 2022, and shifted to the state in connection with the sensational murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala on May 29. Various police agencies keep taking him in custody in the cases being probed by them and hence Bishnoi keeps changing jails.
The NIA said,”Investigations have revealed that a terrorist, gangster and drug smugglers syndicate led by Bishnoi was involved in many targeted killings and extortion from businessmen and professionals, including doctors, and this had created a widespread scare and terror among the public at large.”
