UK grocery store owner, Pakistan link — who's Inderpal Singh Gaba, arrested for Indian mission attack

A Look Out Circular was also issued against him to stop him from traveling back to the UK, sources said.

The NIA arrested Gaba Thursday for carrying out "unlawful activities", which the agency claimed were part of a larger conspiracy "to unleash vicious attacks on the Indian missions and its officials".

Gaba's lawyer Satvinder Singh told ThePrint that the agency has questioned him 4-5 times since December, and found nothing against him.

"These allegations are baseless and the arrest is arbitrary. He is a businessman who has been living in the UK for years and has no connection with Khalistan or its supporters. He also does not have any past criminal record. He has cooperated with the agency throughout. I will not be able to divulge any more details at this point," he said.

The High Commission of India in London was attacked in March by a mob that committed criminal trespass, pulled down the Indian flag, damaged public property, and even injured officials. According to the NIA, the March 2023 attacks in London were found to be in retaliation to the Punjab Police's arrest of Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh.  

NIA suspects India and UK-based separatists such as Gurcharan Singh of the Dal Khalsa, Avtar Singh Khanda of the Khalistan Liberation Force, and Jasvir Singh to be behind the attack. 

An NIA team visited the UK in May 2023 to probe the attack. Subsequently, a crowdsourcing of information was also carried out to identify and collect information about UK-based entities and individuals involved in the incident, based on which the agency identified many of the attackers, it is learnt.

The NIA procured CCTV footage from the high commission to identify the perpetrators.  

In June last year, the NIA put out videos and photographs of suspects in the public domain, along with an appeal to help identify them. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had also issued Look Out Circulars (LOCs) against 15 people, who were identified from five videos of the violence.

The NIA has been carrying out raids and searches at several locations in Punjab and other states to arrest suspects. The agency also issued video footage from outside the Indian High Commission in London where a group of men can be seen waving Khalistani flags.  

"NIA teams have been working hard to arrest the perpetrators, their associates and their supporters, based in India and abroad," one NIA officer told ThePrint. "NIA has been carrying out extensive investigations into the incident with a view to ensuring there is no repeat of such breach of security, disrespect to the Indian National Flag or any threat to Indian interests abroad."

 The officer said that the raids carried out at 31 locations in Punjab in August last year proved crucial in making this arrest.

ThePrint has reached an NIA spokesperson via calls for a comment on the allegations made by Gaba's lawyer. This report will be updated if and when a response is received. 

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'Was just a bystander'

 In an application filed in the Patiala House Court seeking the release of his passport, deletion of his LOC, and permission to travel abroad, Gaba has argued that he has never been involved in any criminal activity in Afghanistan, the UK, or India.

In the application, a copy of which is with ThePrint, Gaba's lawyer Satvinder Singh has said that on 22 March 2023 - the day of the demonstration outside the high commission in London —  his client was merely standing with the protestors and not participating in the event.

Gaba, the application says, had gone to celebrate his birthday with some friends and was only "passing through the Indian Embassy area", where a demonstration was being held. One of his friends then told him to join the protest and "under compulsion, he stood with him."

On his visit to Pakistan in December last year, the application said that Gaba often visited Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib, and Dera Sahib in Lahore, Pakistan, for pilgrimage and that he had gone to Pakistan last year to attend the engagement of his friend's brother.

The application also mentions that Gaba's brother came to India from Pakistan in December 2023 through the Wagah border and was questioned by Indian immigration officials on the same day. He was asked about his brother and told them he would visit India on 9 December.

 When Gaba came on 9 December, he was stopped at the border and questioned about his visit to Pakistan. His phone was seized and his statement was recorded, the application said. 

The lawyer also mentioned that NIA assured Gaba that the LOC against him would be withdrawn and his passport returned since nothing was found against him.

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