New Delhi, October 14
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheeted Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Wadhawa Singh alias Babbar and five other terrorists in the murder of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar alias Vikas Bagga in Punjab.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Bagga was shot dead by terrorists belonging to a BKI module in his confectionary shop at Nangal, district Roopnagar, Punjab in April 2024.
The NIA chargesheet filed has named Babbar, along with two other absconding accused and three arrested accused, as the key perpetrators of the gruesome killing.
Two of the three arrested accused have been identified as shooters Mandeep Kumar and Surinder Kumar, both residents of Nawanshahar, Punjab. They have been charged under various sections of UA(P) Act, IPC and Arms Act. The third arrested accused chargesheeted by NIA is Gurpreet Ram also from Nawanshahr and charged under the Arms Act.
The three absconders were the handlers of these arrested accused. Babbar, currently based in Pakistan, along with Harjit Singh of Nawanshahar and Kulbeer Singh of Yamunanagar, Haryana, had provided the arms, ammunition and funds etc. to carry out the attack.
NIA, which took over the case from the state police on 9th May 2024, found a transnational conspiracy of BKI behind the deadly terror attack. Several members of the BKI module based in various countries came together to carry out the targeted killing, as per NIA investigations.
The investigation has further revealed that Wadhawa Singh from Pakistan directed Germany-based nodes, namely Harjit Singh and Kulbeer Singh to undertake the killing. The officials added that roles of Dubai-based logistics provider and India-based weapons suppliers have also figured in the investigation, which is continuing.
