Close aide of Rinda, Pak-based pro-Khalistan ‘terrorist’, nabbed by NIA
India

Close aide of Rinda, Pak-based pro-Khalistan ‘terrorist’, nabbed by NIA

Khanpuriya was detained at the Delhi airport after he reached here from Pakistan via Thailand, and then arrested. He has been taken to Mohali for questioning, say intelligence sources.

   
Representational Image.| Twitter

Representational Image.| Twitter

New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, alleged Babbar Khalsa International terrorist (BKI) Kulwinderjit Singh alias Khanpuriya, who was absconding and is a declared proclaimed offender for “planning terror strikes” in Punjab, was Friday arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), while he was trying to enter India, ThePrint has learnt.

Khanpuriya was in Pakistan and had reached India via Thailand, intelligence sources said. He was detained at the international airport in Delhi, and then arrested by the NIA. He has now been taken to Mohali for questioning, they added.

A red notice was issued against Khanpuriya in February this year, a copy of which is with ThePrint.

Khanpuriya, sources said, is a close associate of alleged Khalistani terrorist and mastermind of the grenade attack on intelligence headquarters in Punjab’s Mohali in May this year, Harvinder Singh Rinda, who died in Pakistan Saturday.

“Khanpuriya who is involved in multiple terror related cases in Punjab and was also planning serial blasts in public spaces in Punjab. He was suspected to have fled to Malaysia in 2019 from where he was operating. Then he moved to Pakistan from a brief while. We had got a red corner notice issued against him in February this year,” a source said.

“He was presented in the NIA Mohali court and has been granted custody till 25 November,” the source added.

“Khanpuriya is a major arrest as he along with his close associate Rinda, were aligned to execute terror attacks in India. They were the ones pumping in money, and providing all logistical support for the same. Khanpuriya works for the ISI and was involved in pushing in drug money into India for terror activities.

“Khanpuriya used to work in Cambodia and in 2019 went to Malaysia,” the source said.


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‘Planned terror strikes across Punjab’

Khanpuriya was allegedly involved in the RPG attack in Mohali in May this year as an associate of Rinda, police sources said, adding that he will now be questioned on these lines.

In March 2020, a special NIA court had framed charges against Khanpuriya and three others for “waging the war against the government”. Apart from Khanpuriya, charges were also framed against Ravinderpal Singh, Jagdev Singh and Harcharan Singh, who were arrested in April that year.  

The police had alleged that the accused were planning to “disturb the peace in the state”. According to the police, Khanpuriya conspired to carry out the terror acts. Among the charges framed against the accused were waging war against Government of India, collecting arms, with intention of waging war, concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war, along with sections under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

A chargesheet in this regard was filed in 2019.

On 22 March 2021, NIA filed a chargesheet against seven people including Kulwinderjit Singh, in a 2019 case pertaining to  seizure of two hand grenades thrown by two two unknown motorcycle riders at a bus stop in Amritsar’s Raja Sansi area, when they were stopped by a police party during regular checking. 

According to NIA, accused Jajbir Singh Samra and Varinder Singh Chahal were part of a “narco-terror module” involved in distributing the heroin smuggled from Pakistan in order to “channelise the proceeds of drugs to various terrorist entities on the directions of Pakistan based terrorist Harmeet Singh”.

“They had also picked up grenades and concealed the same at pre-decided location for carrying out terrorist act to further the conspiracy hatched by Harmeet Singh and Kulwinderjit Singh alias Khanpuriya,” NIA had said in a statement. 

According to the NIA, investigation also revealed that Kulbir Singh, Manjit Kaur and Taranbir Singh, all named in the chargesheet had harboured and provided logistics support including accommodation, business visa for Kulwinderjit Singh in Cambodia and Malaysia when he had escaped from India. 

(Edited by Anumeha)


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