NIA begins probe into tiffin bomb dropped by drone
Security agencies say anti-india groups, be it LET, JEM or Khalistani terrorists are using drones to deliver arms, explosives and drugs from across the border to avoid capture
NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has launched an investigation into the delivery of a sophisticated tiffin bomb along with hand grenades and 100 pistol cartridges using a drone by Pakistan backed Khalistani terrorists earlier this month, people familiar with the development said.
The consignment was dropped on August 9 near a drain at Daleke village in Lopoke sub-division of Amritsar district, Punjab, just ahead of the Independence Day, following which the state was put on high alert.
This is NIA’S fourth drone related probe in the past year and half.
The tiffin bomb , thus named because 2-3 kg of RDX was packed in a children’s lunch box, was sophisticated enough for Punjab director general of police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta to say at the time of its recovery that it seemed to be straight off an “assembly line”.
“There may be more of such tiffin boxes, which would be coming, or might have come and we don’t know yet,” h said.
The lunch box, five hand grenades and ammunition for a 9mm pistol were packed in a bag and dropped off by a drone.
Officials in security agencies investigating drone activity from across the border said that all anti-india groups, be it Lashkare-taiba, Jaish-e-mohammad, or Hizbul Mujahideen, Khalistani terrorists, and drug smugglers are using drones to deliver arms, explosives, and drugs to avoid capture.
NIA recently took over investigation into the dual bombing of the Jammu air force station on June 27 by LET using drones. The investigators examined several villagers on the possible route taken by the two drones used in the attack but there has been no breakthrough so far.
Apart from the federal antiterror agency, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir police are also investigating multiple drone related incidents.
The Khalistani network, particularly Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), are extensively using Chinese drones with the help of Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-services Intelligence (ISI), with a purpose to arm a movement to destabilize Punjab.
Multiple assessments by Indian security agencies and the Border Security Force (BSF) have highlighted that the use of commercial drones (or quadcopters) by the Pakistan army, ISI and terror groups is a serious threat considering the size of the border, which is difficult to man physically round the clock.
Union home minister Amit Shah said recently that the government will soon have an antidrone technology in place to combat the threat.
“Smuggling of drugs, arms and explosives through tunnels and drones is a major challenge. Today, it is very important for us to deal with these challenges at the earliest. I am confident that we will soon increase our presence at the borders with Swadeshi (made-in-india) anti-drone technology,” Shah said on July 17.
Bureau of Police Research and Development, as reported by HT last month, has already formulated detailed specifications and guidelines for anti-drone technologies and submitted the same to the ministry of home affairs (MHA).
Among the issues covered by the BPRD are threats posed by unregulated/rogue drones to attack critical structures such as oil and gas installations, military bases, and airports apart from targeted assassinations; the importance of declaring particular areas as no-drone zones; training police/security personnel in handling anti-drone systems; and collaborating with private sector for harnessing the technology.