NIA arrests key accused in attack on Indian High Commission in London

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested a key accused in the violent attack on the High Commission of India in London last year and unlawful actions during the subsequent protests.

Inderpal Singh Gaba, a resident of Hounslow, has been arrested for carrying out unlawful activities during the March 22 protests, three days after the Indian high commission building was attacked by pro-Khalistani protesters, the NIA said in a statement.

The NIA’s ongoing probe into the case has revealed that the March 19 and March 22 incidents in London were parts of a larger conspiracy to unleash vicious attacks on the Indian missions and its officials, the agency said.

“The attacks in London in March 2023 were found to be in retaliation to the action taken by Punjab Police against pro-Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh on 18th March 2023,” it added.

The national flag at the Indian high commission in London was pulled down by Khalistani supporters during a protest against the crackdown at separatist elements back home.

The NIA took over the probe from Delhi police after the ministry of home affairs (MHA) met with UK home office representatives in April.

The mastermind of the March 19 violence was said to be Avtar Singh Khanda alias Azad alias Ranjhodh Singh, the self-styled chief of the designated terror outfit Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), who died at a hospital in Birmingham weeks later.

The death of Khanda, the alleged handler of Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, came as a major blow to the pro-Khalistan elements or PKEs.

Intelligence agencies believe that he has been killed by Nijjar and Pamma as he was “proving to be liability to Khalistanis in the UK after his role in the attack on the Indian High Commission was exposed, said an officer, who didn’t want to be named.