5 hrs ago
ED Raids Four States in Ranchi RSS Office Attack Case
The Enforcement Directorate searched places in four Indian states.
It is investigating money connected to a petrol-bomb attack on an RSS office in Ranchi.
The attack was reported on June 17.
The National Investigation Agency took over the case from a Jharkhand Police team.
Three people had earlier been arrested by Jharkhand Police, according to the report.
Investigators are also looking at a Pakistan-based group called the Shahzad Bhatti Network.
The Home Ministry has placed that group on India’s list of banned terrorist organisations.
The ministry says the group recruits people and helps move weapons, explosives and drugs across the border.
The Enforcement Directorate raided premises in Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka in a money-laundering investigation.
The probe concerns a June 17 petrol-bomb attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office in Ranchi.
The case originated with a Jharkhand Police SIT investigation later taken over by the National Investigation Agency.
Officials are examining the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti Network, which the Ministry of Home Affairs recently designated a terrorist organisation.
The MHA said the network allegedly recruits youth and criminals to smuggle arms, explosives and narcotics and support terrorist activities.
- Who
- The Enforcement Directorate, the National Investigation Agency, Jharkhand Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs are involved in the investigation; the Shahzad Bhatti Network is under scrutiny.
- What
- The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids as part of a money-laundering investigation linked to a petrol-bomb attack on an RSS office.
- Where
- Premises in Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka were searched; the attack occurred in Ranchi’s Nivaranpur area.
- When
- The raids were reported on September 17; the attack occurred on June 17, and the Shahzad Bhatti Network was designated a terrorist organisation on September 16.
- Why
- The raids are intended to investigate alleged money laundering and possible links to the Shahzad Bhatti Network, which the government says supports terrorist and anti-national activities.
Key facts
- Investigating agency
- Enforcement Directorate
- Legal framework for raids
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act
- Attack
- Petrol bombs were allegedly hurled at an RSS office in Ranchi on June 17.
- Raid locations
- Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka
- Case origin
- A Jharkhand Police SIT case later taken over by the National Investigation Agency
- SBN designation
- The Ministry of Home Affairs added the Shahzad Bhatti Network to the UAPA First Schedule on September 16.
- Earlier arrests
- Jharkhand Police made three arrests in connection with the attack.
Quotes
Ministry of Home Affairs
India’s central ministry that issued the notification designating SBN a terrorist organisation
“Shahzad Bhatti Network is an organisation whose objective is to involve gullible youth and local criminals to smuggle arms, explosives and narcotics from across the border, and through terrorist activities pose a serious threat to the democratic system, communal harmony and internal security of the country.”
theprint.in
Sources
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