NIA in collaboration with Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh Police establishes mechanism against gangster eco-system in northern India

New Delhi [India], June 30 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in collaboration with the police forces of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh has established a collective institutionalised mechanism for real-time information sharing and coordinated action against the gangster eco-system in the northern region of the country.

The collective institutionalised mechanism will share regular information for operations against the gangster eco-system, the NIA made the announcement on Friday in a statement following the meeting organised in Chandigarh.

They also decided to set up a 'Joint Listing Committee', with representative officers from the NIA and the three police forces, to list out and map the entire network of the various criminal syndicates active in the northern States and Union Territory.

"It was further decided to hold monthly meetings of all the stakeholders to address the issue of organised crimes and criminals in these areas," said the statement.

These decisions were taken at a high-level Inter-State coordination meeting held in Panchkula, Haryana, under the chairmanship of NIA Director General Dinkar Gupta.

"The meeting discussed the activities of leaders and members of organized criminal syndicates and groups operating in the northern states, and also the ongoing investigations in the various criminal cases connected with them," said the statement.

This was the second meeting the NIA DG steered for tackling the menace of organised criminal terror syndicates. The DG had initiated these meetings to collectively deal with such syndicates through sharing of findings and inputs among the various police agencies and forces.

Underscoring the need for collaborative action in combating organised crime, Gupta called for enhanced cooperation and information sharing among the NIA, Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana police forces to effectively address the growing threat posed by these criminal syndicates, particularly in the northern region.

NIA which is investigating three such cases against criminal terror syndicates shared its findings and observations on the methodology adopted by the syndicates operating from jails. It emphasised the need for fast-tracking of trials against these gangsters as an effective tool to tackle the problem, along with the need for a witness protection plan.

Besides Gupta, others who attended the meeting included P.K. Agrawal, Director General of Police, Haryana; Gaurav Yadav, Director General of Police, Punjab; Praveer Ranjan, Director General of Police, Chandigarh. Special DGP (Internal security) Punjab R.N. Dhoke, ADGP CID Haryana Alok Mittal, ADGP Law and Order Haryana Mamta Singh, IG NIA Vijay Sakhare, IGP (Internal security) Punjab Nilabh Kishore, IGP Chandigarh Raj Kumar Singh, DIG STF Simardeep Singh, DIG NIA Amit Kumar, SP STF Waseem Akram and other police officers also participated in the high-level meeting.

During the meeting, DGP Haryana P.K. Agrawal underlined the urgency of taking swift and decisive action to dismantle the networks of these criminal syndicates, disrupt their activities, and ensure justice. He reassured the participants that the Haryana Police was fully committed to supporting and actively participating in the coordinated efforts to combat organized crime.

Also, DGP Punjab Gaurav Yadav emphasized that international liaison and cooperation with Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in foreign countries is essential to extradite and deport active leaders and members based abroad in various countries.

DGP Chandigarh Praveer Ranjan highlighted close inter-state coordination and joint operations between Police forces of affected States as the Criminal Syndicates were operating all over including Chandigarh.

The interventions required at both the structural level, as well as the operational level to dismantle the terror-syndicate's ecosystem, were discussed threadbare, and it was decided to formulate an institutionalised mechanism for timely sharing of actionable inputs with all the stakeholders.

The growing nexus between criminals and gangsters, with their inter-state linkages and conflicts, has become a cause for concern for the northern states. The foot soldiers, recruits, harbourers etc of these criminal gangster syndicates are spread across the states of north India, requiring a coordinated and synergised effort by the police of different states to deal with them effectively.

Representatives from various agencies presented their findings and insights into the ongoing investigations during the meeting. Officials from the NIA, Haryana Police, Punjab Police, and Chandigarh Police made presentations and shared valuable information regarding the operations, modus operandi, and key individuals associated with these criminal syndicates.

Following the presentations, a detailed and constructive discussion took place among senior officers from all participating agencies.

The focus of the discussion revolved around devising strategies to disrupt the activities of organized criminal syndicates, strengthen intelligence sharing mechanisms, and coordinate efforts to apprehend the individuals involved in these unlawful activities.