NIA files chargesheet against 15 in Ravinder Gosain murder

New Delhi [India], May 04 (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against fifteen persons in connection with the killing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Ravinder Gosain in Punjab's Ludhiana.

The chargesheet was filed in the Special NIA Court in Mohali.

On October 17 last year, Gosain was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in Ludhiana's Kailash Nagar.

During the investigation, it was found that the killing of Gosain was part of a transnational conspiracy, hatched by the senior leadership of the Khalistan Liberation Force.

Eight incidents of targeted/attempted killings were executed as part of this conspiracy between January 2016 and October 2017 in Punjab. All the persons targeted belonged to certain specific communities and organisations. The objective of the conspiracy was to destabilise the law and order situation in Punjab and to revive the fledgeling terrorism in the state.

It was found that the conspiracy had its footprints in several countries including Pakistan, the UK, Australia, France, Italy and the UAE.

As part of the conspiracy, a large sum of funds was supplied through Italy, Australia and the UK to the perpetrators of the killings/ attempted killings, viz. Hardeep Singh and Ramandeep Singh. These funds were used by them to purchase weapons for executing the killings and other logistics.

The accused persons have been charged under Sections 120B, 302, 34, 379, 416 of the IPC; sections 16, 17, 18, 18A, 18B, 20, 21 and 23 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959, including those who sold or facilitated the sale of weapons to the accused persons to carry out the killings or attempted killings. (ANI)