Consulate attacks: A few from Haryana, Punjab under NIA lens over US visit

The National Investigation Agency has been tracking the activities of some residents of Punjab and Haryana for their alleged role in the attacks on the Consulate General of India in San Francisco, US, where they have been suspected of visiting in the past, sources said.

Besides, the sources, privy to the development, informed that the recent searches conducted in the case against people in Punjab and Haryana have been found to be connected via social media platforms to those identified in two separate Consulate attack cases.

The inputs were received a few days after NIA raided over a dozen locations in Punjab and Haryana in connection with these cases.

As part of its continuing investigations into the attacks on the Consulate General of India, San Francisco, the NIA raided 14 places in Punjab and Haryana on November 22.

The locations raided by the NIA were spread across the districts of Moga, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Patiala in Punjab, and Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar in Haryana.

The crackdown led to the seizure of digital data containing information related to the accused persons, along with other incriminating documents.

The move was a bid to unravel the complete conspiracy behind the March 19 and July 2, 2023 attacks involving criminal trespass, vandalism, damage to public property and attempts to cause hurt to the officials of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and set the Consulate building on fire through acts of arson.

The NIA has been probing the case with the aim to identify and prosecute the attackers and the assailants of the attacks and send a strong message to such anti-Indian elements.

A team of the NIA had visited San Francisco in August 2023 to investigate the incidents of attacks on the Consulate through violent acts of arson and vandalism, leading to fear among the Consulate staff and the community.

As part of its investigations, the NIA said it has crowdsourced information to identify and collect information about US-based entities and individuals involved in these violent incidents.

The agency has already identified certain individuals who were part of the conspiracy behind the repeated attacks.

These include the attackers and many of their associates, who are both Indian and foreign nationals.

The Consulate General of India in San Francisco was attacked on March 19 by a group of assailants who committed criminal trespass, damaged public property, and attacked officials of the Consulate.

Prior to this attack, on the same day, some attackers attempted to set the Consulate building on fire by sprinkling inflammable substances early in the morning. Subsequently, on July 2, at midnight, a few people attempted to set the Consulate building on fire.