Chandigarh, Jan 23 (PTI) Punjab Police on Friday claimed to have busted two terror modules ahead of Republic Day with the arrest of six operatives of the proscribed outfit BKI and the seizure of a huge cache of arms and ammunition from across the state.
The State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, averted an imminent attack on a security establishment with the arrest of a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative, Sharanpreet Singh, a resident of Dinewal village of Tarn Taran, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Friday.
A P-86 type hand grenade, one 9 mm Glock pistol, along with five live cartridges and 65 grams of ICE (Methamphetamine) drug were seized from his possession, the officer said.
Sharing information about another breakthrough against Pakistan’s ISI-backed terror network, Yadav said that Hoshiarpur police, in a joint operation with Counter Intelligence, Jalandhar, arrested five operatives of BKI and seized an “RDX-based” improvised explosive device weighing 2.5 kg and two pistols along with cartridges.
“The module was being operated by USA-based BKI handlers. Preliminary investigations reveal that the recovered IED was intended for a targeted terror attack in view of the upcoming Republic Day celebrations,” the DGP said in a post on X.
An FIR has been registered at Garhshankar police station, Hoshiarpur, under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act and further investigation in the matter is underway.
He further said in the post that, “The arrested accused from Garhshankar, Hoshiarpur have been identified as: Diljot Singh Saini, Harman alias Harry, Ajay alias Mehra, and Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Kandola.
In the case of Sharanpreet Singh’s arrest, the officer said that preliminary investigations suggest that he was working on the orders of foreign-based BKI operatives Nishan Singh alias Nishan Jaurrian, Adeshbir Singh alias Adesh Jamarai and Simranjit Singh alias Simma Deol.
The foreign-based handlers have been actively involved in orchestrating disruptive activities in Punjab to create terror and panic, he added.
According to an official statement, the DGP said that further investigations are ongoing to establish forward and backward linkages in this case.
Sharing operational details, Additional Inspector General of Police (SSOC) Amritsar Sukhminder Singh Mann said that in an intel-based operation, teams from Amritsar arrested Sharanpreet from the Bundala Morh area on the Amritsar-Tarn Taran Highway.
During sustained interrogation, he revealed that recently, his handlers arranged delivery of a hand grenade, which was concealed at a spot near Church on the highway, the officer said.
Based on the accused’s disclosure, the police team took the accused to the said location and recovered a P86 hand grenade from a spot.
He further said that the probe revealed that the accused had joined this network through his cousin Simma Deol. On their directions, he has been transporting consignments of explosives, weapons and handling illegal money, the IG added.
Initially, a case was registered on Wednesday under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the Arms Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at SSOC Amritsar police station, while relevant sections of the Explosives Act were added after recovery of the grenade. PTI SUN OZ OZ
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