Visiting Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI Director Christopher Wray has assured India that the US is probing attack on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco “aggressively” and would be able to share “credible” leads soon, sources said. Mr Wray met National Investigation Agency Director Dinkar Gupta on second day of his visit on Tuesday.

In March, a group of Khalistan supporters attacked and damaged the Indian Consulate. It was again attacked in July. The NIA team had visited San Francisco in August and returned with some leads.

The meeting between the investigating agency chiefs comes on the heels of Washington’s allegations about an Indian link to a foiled plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.

At the meeting, India flagged how freedom of expression is being misused, NDTV has learnt.

“The NIA chief highlighted how the nexus between terrorist outfits and terrorist elements with members of organised criminal syndicates spreading in the US,” a senior official said.

Detailed discussions were also held between both agencies on how to share real time intelligence, so that informed decisions can be taken promptly.

“Discussions were also held on several pending extraditions, including that of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack co-conspirator Tahawwur Rana,” another senior official said.

Pakistan-origin Canadian businessman Rana is wanted by the Indian authorities for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. He is currently in the US.

At the meeting, the NIA chief pointed out that threats in the cyber domain were increasing. Digital space was also being effectively exploited by terrorists and extremists for propagating radical views and recruitment, he said, adding that NIA was also seeing use of crytocurrency for terror funding.

The difficulties encountered by law enforcement agencies in obtaining data from encryption Apps were also discussed.

The two sides noted that with the advent of newer technologies at a fast pace, tracing, tracking and investigating crypto transactions is turning out to be a huge challenge, the official said.

The official said both agencies recognised the challenges posed by organised crime networks, terror related crimes, cyber-enabled terror attacks, ransomware threats, economic crimes and transnational terror crimes.

India on Tuesday voted in favour of a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the unconditional release of all hostages.

The resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire was sponsored by several countries, including  Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Palestine, among others. Ten countries including the United States and Israel voted against it, while 23 abstained.

“It’s a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly,” Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said as quoted by news agency AFP. 

The draft resolution did not mention Hamas, prompting the US, Israel’s strongest ally, to propose an amendment to the draft with the paragraph: “Unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages.”

India voted in favour of this amendment.

India had abstained on a similar resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict in October.  Despite abstaining, India had called for unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip.

The UN General Assembly vote yesterday comes days after the US vetoed a similar resolution in the UN Security Council. The UNSC resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates and supported by over 90 member states received 13 favourable votes, while the United Kingdom abstained.

Over 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed after Hamas launched a sensational land-sea-air assault on October 7. In retaliation, Israel pounded the Gaza Strip – a Hamas stronghold – with airstrikes, killing over 18,000 people, 70 per cent of whom are said to be women and children, in the densely populated Palestinian enclave. 

Ravi Uppal, one of the two main owners of the Mahadev online betting app, has been detained in Dubai by the local police on the basis of a red notice issued by the Interpol at the behest of the ED, official sources said Wednesday.

Uppal, 43, was detained last week in that country and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) authorities are in touch with the Dubai authorities to get him deported to India, they said.

Uppal is being probed by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal betting apart from the Chhattisgarh Police and Mumbai Police.

The probe agency had filed a money laundering chargesheet against Uppal and another promoter of the Internet-based platform, Sourabh Chandrakar, before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur in October.

A red notice was subsequently issued by the Interpol on the basis of ED’s request.

The agency had informed the court in the charge sheet that Uppal has taken a passport of Vanuatu, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, even as he has not renounced Indian citizenship.

Uppal, the ED said in the prosecution complaint, “generated and enjoyed proceeds of crime and is involved in their concealment and layering.” It had alleged Uppal was “looking after the delivery of the liasioning money to the bureaucrats and politicians of Chhattisgarh through Chandrabhushan Verma”, an assistant sub inspector of police, and some others.

The projected proceeds of crime in this case is about Rs 6,000 crore, as per the ED.

The agency had claimed in November, just before the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly polls, that forensic analysis and statement made by a ‘cash courier’ named Asim Das have led to “startling allegations” that Mahadev betting app promoters have paid about Rs 508 crore to former Chhattisgarh chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel so far, adding that these allegations were “subject matter of investigation”.

Das had later submitted before the special court in Raipur that he had been framed as part of a conspiracy and he had never delivered cash to politicians.

The ED investigation has shown that Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the UAE, officials said. It operates by franchising “Panel/Branches” to their known associates on 70-30 per cent profit ratio, it had said.

Large scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts, it had said.

Large expenditure in cash is also being done in India for advertising of betting websites to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers, the ED had said.

The company promoters hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and the Mahadev online book betting application is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)