ISI used Tihar gangsters to fund Khalistanis in Canada

The illegal funding network of Canada-based pro-Khalistan terrorists has a strong Delhi link. The network has been nurtured by Pakistan's ISI, which has roped in gangsters jailed in Tihar prison in Delhi, including Lawrence Bishnoi, Kaushal Chowdary, Amit Dagar and Navin Bali, to ensure that extortion money collected by their gang members reached pro-Khalistan terrorist Arshdeep Singh Gill, alias Arsh Dalla, and slain terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, say sources in security agencies.

- RAHUL CHHABRA

Apart from receiving messages from ISI operatives in Pakistani cities such Lahore, Islamabad, Multan and Karachi, the gangsters in Tihar were also contacted by Dalla himself, said a source.

In exchange for sending crores of rupees to Dalla in Canada through the hawala channel, the ISI arranged sophisticated weapons for the operatives of the jailed gangsters. The weapons were supplied by ISI-supported criminal Asif Khan, who is based in Uttar Pradesh, said a source.

Officials in the Indian security establishment have already exposed the link between Dalla and Nijjar and how hawala money reaching Canada was being shared by the two. While Nijjar was alive, he got money from Indian gangsters-routed through Dalla-and he arranged weapons in India for gangsters belonging to Lawrence Bishnoi's rival gang.