Police remand of 7 accused extended

AMRITSAR: A local court on Thursday extended the police remand of the seven suspected operatives of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) module till October 9.

Seven of the eight accused — Balwant Singh, alias Baba, alias Nihang, 45, of Tarn Taran’s Mohanpura village, Akashdeep Singh, alias Akash Randhawa, 20, of Amritsar’s Naag Kalan village, Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh, both of Tanda in Hoshiarpur, Maan Singh, 40, of Gurdaspur, Gurdev Singh of Tanda and Shubdeep Singh of Amritsar — were presented before judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Minakshi Mahajan by state special operation cell (SSOC) wing of Punjab Police.

The eighth accused, Sajanpreet Singh, 20, of Amritsar, who was arrested on Tuesday was presented before a duty magistrate on Wednesday and he was sent him to five-day police remand.

On September 22, police had busted the module which was backed by Pakistan-based chief of KZF Ranjit Singh, alias Neeta, and his Germany-based associate Gurmeet Singh, alias Bagga, alias Doctor, who had re-organised their terrorist group to revive terrorism in Punjab.

With the arrest of four of its members, police had recovered of a consignment of weapons, including five AK-47 rifles and hand grenades, reportedly flown from Pakistan through drones, from Tarn Taran’s Chohla Sahib village.

The police in their preliminary probe found that Maan Singh, 40, had recruited Akashdeep at the behest of his Germany-based handler Bagga when both were lodged in the Amritsar jail. Maan Singh, who is already facing a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act case, has been brought from jail on a production warrant. Police had said drones were used while smuggling the weapons consignment from across the border.HTC