NIA, UP police team attacked by Ghaziabad mob during raid
The mob fired as well as resorted to stone pelting on the team which had gone to Ghaziabad to investigate the murder case of an RSS leader.
New Delhi: Some policemen were injured when a mob attacked a joint team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Uttar Pradesh police in Ghaziabad area on Sunday.
The mob fired as well as resorted to stone pelting on the team which had gone to Ghaziabad to investigate the murder case of an RSS leader from Punjab, Ravinder Gosain. The case was transferred recently to NIA by the home ministry following a recommendation from the Punjab government as Gosain’s murder in Ludhiana had led to a major political outrage.
NIA officials claimed that during the course of investigations, it was revealed that some arms smugglers operating in the Ghaziabad area might have supplied the weapons used in Goasain’s killing. It was in connection with this aspect of the case that the NIA along with UP police had gone to Ghaziabad to conduct further investigations when the mob attacked them injuring a policeman.
Earlier, the NIA along with the state police had also carried out raids in Meerut district also on the night of December 2 and 3 to arrest some of these arms smugglers. During this raid, it was revealed that one of the main suspects, Malook, could be hiding at his residence in Ghaziabad’s Nahali village.
A joint team of NIA and the local police went to the Nahali village on Sunday morning when a large crowd gathered there. The mob surrounded the team and turned violent with some of them even resorting to firing and stone pelting.
A UP police constable, Tahjib Khan, was also injured in the incident and some police vehicles were also damaged. The village residents also obstructed the roads by putting up road blocks.
The NIA and the state police personnel also fired some rounds in self defence.
Two suspects have been detained for questioning by the police. NIA officials said raids are being conducted to trace Malook, who is suspected to have supplied arms to the killers involved in Goasain’s murder.
The NIA had registered a case on Nov 30 in connection with the murder of the Punjab RSS leader under different sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Punjab Police which was initially investigating the case has already arrested two persons, Ramandeep Singh and Hardeep Singh, in connection with the murder.
The NIA had also claimed earlier that the murder could well be part of an elaborate conspiracy by Punjab militants operating from countries like United Kingdom, France, Italy, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan to foment trouble in the State. It has also been revealed during the course of the investigation that some funds from these foreign countries might have been routed through the hawala network for the murder.