Punjab Police bust Khalistani terror module; four arrested

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police on Tuesday busted a terror module that allegedly had Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar on its hit-list.

Four persons, including a woman, have been arrested, who according to the police, were planning to carry out targeted killings under the banner - ‘Khalistan Zindabad’.

They have been identified as Harbarinder Singh of Amritsar, Amritpal Kaur of Ludhiana, and Jarnail Singh and Randeep Singh of Gurdaspur. Two pistols (4 magazines and 5 live rounds) were seized from them.

Police had arrested five other members of the group on May 26 from Bathinda district.

On the radar of these “highly radicalised youth” were Congress leaders Tytler and Kumar, as well as those they considered responsible for incidents of sacrilege or desecration, said a police spokesperson. Tytler and Kumar have faced allegations related to their role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. The youths had formed a group – ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ - after having been radicalised over Facebook and other social media platforms by certain individuals based in Pakistan, various middle-eastern countries and the UK, the spokesman said.

Working with their handlers and associates in India and abroad, the accused were in the process of arranging funds, procuring weapons and arranging training for their members, said police. Mohali police swooped down on them in an operation spread over May 29 and 30.

The accused were booked under various sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Arms Act, and the IPC. They were remanded in police custody for a week. Those arrested in Bathinda earlier were identified as Tarsem Singh Khalistani, Mohkam Singh Babbar, Manjit Singh, Jaswant Singh, and Jasbir Singh.

CONGRESS LEADERS JAGDISH TYTLER, SAJJAN KUMAR WERE ON THE MODULE’S HITLIST, SAY COPS