Tuesday saw the National Investigation Agency go after what it calls terror money in Punjab. They attached a house in Amritsar as proceeds of terrorism in a case with Lashkar-e-Taiba links. The idea is to put a stop to the money trail that, for want of a better word, is keeping operations in India running via a drug ring on the other side of the border.
Why the seizure is significant
You can’t have violence without the means to back it up, and that’s where this comes in. The agency says tying up property is the only way to really get at the financial and logistical underpinnings of these groups. Officials will have you know the attachment was done by the book, with independent eyes on it and local authorities on hand to see it through.
It was done under Section 25 (1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Salaya drug matter, or RC-26/2020/NIA/DLI if you want the file number. And to be clear, the NIA has put the house down as the fruit of terrorism under section 2 (g) (ii) of the Act.
The Amritsar link and the address
We are talking about House No. 33 in the Holy Enclave Phase-I, in the Holy City of Amritsar. The NIA says the home is in the name of the father of Ankush Kapoor, who they consider one of the main cogs in a transnational narco-terror machine in India.
The point of going after such assets, as officials put it, is to take out any infrastructure that could be propping up the pipeline from crime to terror.
What the NIA alleges
Then there is the matter of Kapoor. He was in custody last year, and the NIA has him down as a prime figure in a plot to move and store narcotics. On top of that, he is said to have been washing the proceeds of terrorism for accused in a number of countries.
All that drug money, the agency claims, was being funneled through some very convoluted channels to bankroll and prop up terrorists in India.
Cross-border web under scrutiny
NIA files show Kapoor had some dealing with an accused in Dubai who has ties to the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan. From what we can tell, the network has a reach into the UAE, Italy, Australia, Iran, Thailand and beyond.
That is why, according to those in the know, you are seeing more of an emphasis on freezing assets and making seizures to go with the usual arrests and chargesheets.
What charges Kapoor faces
For his part in the terror-funding and for conspiring to support unlawful networks, the anti-terror agency has laid charges at his door. There are also counts under the NDPS and the IPC to answer for.
They have already put 26 names in a chargesheet for this case and they are not done yet.
How the operation unfolded
The team in Amritsar made the attachment in the proper statutory way. With witnesses and local help, they made sure nothing was left to chance in terms of legal procedure.
Consider it another step in a wider campaign to tear down whatever is left of the support system for terrorists in the country.
What this means next
The NIA is still on the job. They are watching the assets and the money flows across borders, and expect to see more of the same as they make sense of the evidence.
If you are in the area, the message is plain: the push to cut off the head of the snake is not just about putting people in jail; it is about using their own finances against them.
Here is a quick rundown of how the NIA sees it:
– The NIA has marked the property as proceeds of terrorism
– Seized per Section 25 (1) of the UA(P) Act
– You can find it in the Salaya case, RC-26/2020/NIA/DLI
– A Dubai-based accused is the link to LeT
When you go after the real estate of an operative, you are trying to starve the narco-terror setup of what it needs to survive. The NIA’s line is simple: if you want to put an end to a mix of organised crime and extremism, you have to follow the money.
