Terror module busted, 4 held with five AK-47S
PAK LINK Pistols, ammo, sat phones seized from operatives at Tarn Taran village; Amarinder decides to hand over probe to NIA, police suspect drones used for delivery of arms
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police on Sunday busted a Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terror module, which was conspiring to unleash a series of terror strikes in Punjab and adjoining states, by arresting four people and seizing five AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades.
This is the biggest seizure of arms and ammunition in Punjab in a decade, Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta said.
Taking cognisance of the seriousness of the matter, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has decided to hand over the investigations to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to ensure that the entire conspiracy, which has cross-border links, is unraveled expeditiously.
Those arrested have been identified as Balwant Singh alias Baba alias Nihang; Akashdeep Singh alias Akash Randhawa; Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh. The arrests were made from Chola Sahib village in Tarn Taran on Sunday. The accused were travelling in a Maruti Swift Dzire car (PB65-X-8042). The accused have been booked by the state special operation cell (SSOC), Amritsar, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, Prisons Act, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The operation was led by AIG (counter intelligence) Ketan Baliram Patil with the help of Punjab Police personnel from Chandigarh. Five AK-47 rifles, along with 16 magazines and 472 rounds; four China-made 30-bore pistols, along with eight magazines and 72 rounds; nine hand grenades; five Thuraya satellite phones, along with their ancillary equipment, two mobile phones, two wireless sets and ₹10 lakh in fake Indian currency were recovered from the accused. Further investigations are on, police said.
Both Akashdeep and Balwant Singh have a criminal past with multiple criminal cases pending against them. Preliminary investigations revealed that Maan Singh, who is lodged in Amritsar jail in a case lodged under the Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), had radicalised Akashdeep when they were lodged together in the prison, police said.
Recipient of the consignment, Balwant Singh, is a member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and was earlier arrested in a case registered under the UAPA and Arms Act at Mukandpur police station in SBS Nagar. He is currently out on bail.
With initial investigations suggesting the use of drones to deliver weapons and communication hardware from across the border, the chief minister has also urged the central government to direct the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Border Security Force (BSF) to launch necessary counter-measures to check such activities.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said the weapons appeared to have been delivered recently from across the Indo-pak border through drones by Jihadi and pro-khalistan outfits with the backing of Pakistan government agencies.