New Delhi: Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH), a “pseudo identity” for a little-known group with no clear independent existence and members allegedly linked to Pakistan-based handlers, has resurfaced after claiming responsibility for the killing of a Punjab Police officer in Amritsar on 24 May. The purported outfit was in news earlier in February, when it claimed responsibility for a fatal attack on two officers at a police post in Gurdaspur.
Sources in the Punjab Police told ThePrint that they suspect the module operating under the name of Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan, which sounds similar to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, could be working on direct instructions of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“There is enough evidence confirming the incident involving the killing of two police personnel at the Dorangla police outpost in Adhian village in Gurdaspur was done on the direct instructions of the PIOs (Pakistani Intelligence Operatives) based across the border,” a Punjab Police officer said about the February attack on the police post.
However, the officer said “there was no evidence available as of now supporting the existence of any such outfit in the name of TTH, as claimed in the purported social media post”.
“There are several such proxies used by the ISI to keep the State machinery challenged, but not without costs. If at all, there is one outfit called as such, it is a proxy of the ISI to keep the troubles flaming, giving them deniability about its involvement,” the officer added.
Attack on ASI in Amritsar
Shortly after the body of the ASI Joga Singh was recovered from the highway under the Majitha police station limits, senior Punjab Police officers rushed to inspect the site of the incident. Posted at the Amritsar Police Commissionerate, Singh took the same route daily from his place of residence in the neighbouring Batala district.
“There was certainly some tip-offs about his daily movement from the same stretch and that the assailants were tasked to carry out the killing,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity. The officer added that whether the act was planned is a matter of investigation.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police has also zeroed in on two suspects who were spotted rushing from the scene of the incident. They are yet to be traced and identified.
“Not one case has gone untraced in Punjab of this nature, and we shall crack this case too. We are working on multiple theories behind the killing and possible routes taken by the assailants to escape from the site,” said the officer quoted earlier.
‘Graffiti and bid to popularise outfit’
The TTH first came to light in February this year when it claimed responsibility for the attack on the checkpost in Gurdaspur, metres away from the international border. Assistant Sub Inspector Gurnam Singh and homeguard Jawan Ashok Kumar were killed in the attack.
Hours after the attack, a social media statement, attributed to the TTH, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Shortly afterwards, Pakistani gangster and ISI operative Shehzad Bhatti issued a video, purportedly with his voice-over, showing the two police personnel being shot from close range.
The next month, Delhi Police Special Cell arrested one Rampur man, Harmandeep Singh, for allegedly being in touch with Bhatti and painting pro-TTH graffiti at multiple locations, including in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur. After Harmandeep’s arrest, Special Cell DCP Narra Chaitnaya had said that Bhatti and his gang had been luring youth initially for smaller tasks before asking them to carry out targeted killings by throwing grenades.
According to the investigation, Harmandeep had quit studies and fled to Amritsar, where he was influenced by gangsters and came into contact with Bhatti.
Another person was arrested by the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF). Vikrant Kashyap, the man from Dehradun who was initially given smaller tasks, was asked to throw grenades at a lawyer known for making “anti-Muslim” speeches.
During his interrogation, Kashyap also allegedly told he police that Bhatti had provided him with spray paint to paint graffiti with Tehreek-e-Taliban-Hindustan (TTH) name, with the aim of popularising the purported outfit in India.
He was also allegedly tasked with filming key installations in Dehradun, such as police headquarters, bus terminal, and other important government buildings. Another operative, named Gurjar, was supposed to supply bombs for him to blow them up.
The Uttarakhand STF, which arrested Kashyap after surveillance, allegedly found that he had been promised a visa to Dubai via Nepal upon completion of the task assigned by Bhatti. “Neither TTH nor Bhatti are known to be an organised group working at the behest of the ISI. Bhatti is a slave of the ISI, which uses his social media allurements methods to stir trouble at very low cost in India without any costs imposed on them because of no direct connection,” a source in the security establishment told ThePrint.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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