NIA targets suspected Pak linked smuggling nexus, carries out raids in Rajasthan

Jaipur/Alwar/Bhilwara: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at multiple locations across the country, including in Rajasthan’s Neemrana and Ajmer, as part of its investigation into a Pakistan-linked cross border modules Friday. Officials detained a resident of Neemrana for questioning and carried out searches at his residence, while another person was questioned in Ajmer.The action is linked to an investigation involving Pakistan-based operative Jasveer Chaudhary and gangster Shahzad Bhatti. An NIA team carried out an operation in the Neemrana area of Kotputli-Behror district early Friday and brought the suspect to Neemrana police station, where he was questioned for several hours. Police sources said the man works for a private company. Investigators are examining his possible links and communications connected to the broader module under scrutiny.The man’s wife, said the family had been staying in Sarosa village in Uttar Pradesh for the past month and that her husband returned to Neemrana only a day earlier. According to her, around 10 to 15 personnel from the NIA and local police arrived at their residence Friday morning, conducted a search and seized certain items from the house.In a separate operation, an NIA team reached a residence in Ajmer around 5am and questioned another individual. Officials did not immediately disclose details of the interrogation or the material, if any, recovered during the searches.Sources said Rajasthan Police has also been monitoring several suspects allegedly linked to Bhatti and probing their online communications with the gangster through social media platforms. Security agencies have been keeping a close watch on the gang’s suspected involvement in cross-border smuggling of weapons, explosives and narcotics using drones, particularly along sensitive sectors near the India-Pakistan border.Investigators are examining whether individuals questioned during the raids had any role in facilitating logistics, communication networks or other activities linked to the module involved in possible terror activities.