New Delhi:
India will follow up on its Nov. 10 request to Canada for the extradition of terrorist Arshdeep Gill, alias Aash Dara, the de facto head of the banned Khalistan Tigers unit, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. announced.
In a statement on X, the ministry said a court in the Canadian province of Ontario listed the extradition request for hearing and sent a separate request to confirm financial details provided last year.
The ministry identified Dara as a “declared offender” named in more than 50 acts of terrorism, including murder, attempted murder, extortion, and terrorist financing. He was designated as a “terrorist” in January last year and is also a defendant in several cases brought by the National Investigation Agency.
Delhi also believes that Dara took over the reins of the Khalistan terrorist organization after Hardeep Nijjar was shot dead. The murder of Canadian citizen Nijjar in June 2023 sparked a diplomatic spat with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who declared without evidence that Indian “agents” were involved in the murder.
Here are our responses to media questions regarding the arrest of designated terrorists in Canada.https://t.co/c6CasRuteb pic.twitter.com/XfH4S5UzUr
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) November 14, 2024
Canada rejected an earlier request by India to extradite Dara.
Dara was injured and arrested in an attack by an unknown gunman in Halton, Canada, last month. Dara was injured and was treated at a local hospital before police were called. When police searched their vehicle, a gray Dodge Durango, they found bullet holes in the SUV and two shell casings on the passenger floor, indicating Dara and Singh may have fired shots as well. It is said that there is.
Read | Hardeep Nijjar's aide Arshdeep Dara detained in Canada: sources
The next day, Dara's home was searched and a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol was discovered, along with a rifle, shotgun, and two high-capacity magazines inside the gun safe.
Read | How a gunfight in Canada led to the arrest of Khalistani terrorist Dara
Dara and his colleague Gurjant Singh have been arrested and are awaiting a bail hearing.
Who is Aash Dara?
Dara is from Moga, Punjab.
Dara, known as a close ally of Nijjar, is said to have orchestrated multiple targeted killings through a grid of sleeper cell assassins. Among the more high-profile victims of his murderous network was Manohar Lal, a member of Gurmeet Ram Rahim-led Dera Sacha Sauda, who was killed in November 2020.
Experts believe Dara's sleeper cell network spans three continents: Canada and the United States in North America, parts of Europe, and Dubai, the Philippines, and Thailand in Asia.
An official told NDTV. He is known to be involved in gun smuggling across Pakistan's borders, and his large-scale criminal activities may be supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
These are smuggled into Punjab by drone drops. There are also unconfirmed reports of terrorist acts in collaboration with Lashkar-e-Taiba, another proscribed terrorist organization.
Conflict between Dhara and Bishnoi
Dara's criminal network is believed to have a long-standing rivalry with an organization led by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who incredibly runs a huge syndicate from prisons in Punjab.
Bishnoi gangs focused on firing after the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022, and in April this year, they attacked Bollywood star Salman Khan outside his Mumbai home. The shooting incident was widely reported.
Read | 'Bishnoi gang has ties to Indian government officials': Canada claims
The gang also assassinated Maharashtra politician Baba Siddique last month and was named by Canadian authorities with baseless charges against India in connection with Nijjar's murder.
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