Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

300km chase by Punjab Police ends with terror suspects’ arrest in Karnal

Two of the four arrested accused have several criminal cases registered against them across Punjab, say police

- HT Correspond­ents letterschd@hindustant­imes.com

CHANDIGARH/ FEROZEPUR/ LUDHIANA: Punjab Police chased the four terror suspects for over 300km before they were arrested with three IEDS packed in a metallic case (2.5kg each) and one pistol along with ammunition from Karnal in Haryana.

Punjab director general of police (DGP) VK Bhawra said in the preliminar­y interrogat­ion, the accused persons revealed that they were working for Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda.

The accused were identified as Gurpreet Singh (28), Amandeep Singh (25) of Vinjoke village, Parminder Singh (24) of Makhu in Zira, Ferozepur, and Bhupinder Singh of Bhatian village in Ludhiana.

Six cases have been registered against Gurpreet, including attempt to murder, recovery of drugs and under the Arms Act across Punjab, said an official, adding: “Parminder was booked in three cases, including theft, trespass and drugs case.” Ferozepur SSP Charanjit Singh Sohal said police teams were keeping a watch on their activities.

Amandeep, who is a taxi driver, was driving the Toyota Innova from which the explosives were seized.

He lives with his wife and grandmothe­r in a small house at Vinjoke village and does not have agricultur­e land, according to villagers.

The fourth accused, Bhupinder Singh, is a knitting manager at a factory on Rahon Road in

Ludhiana. The police raided his house in morning and search and questionin­g continued late till the evening. Bhupinder’s parents said their son had told them that he was visiting Hazur Sahib in Nanded with his friends. They claimed Bhupinder had no connection with any terror outfit.

Tip-off by central agency Punjab director general of police (DGP) VK Bhawra said a central agency earlier shared an input that some suspects, who may be carrying explosive material and weapons, are moving in the border districts of Fazilka and Ferozepur.

Subsequent to this input, police teams led by AIG, counter intelligen­ce, Ferozepur, and commandant, PAP, Harkamalpr­eet Singh Khakh and SHO, SSOC, Fazilka, Satinderde­ep Singh Brar, launched a hunt using technical support. The DGP said the teams jointly identified suspected locations in Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot and Mohali districts. The DGP said that the suspects were first found to be moving in the area of Ferozepur and later they started moving in a White Innova vehicle (DL1VB7869) towards Ludhiana.

“The suspects took the national highway and started moving towards Ambala. The developmen­t was shared with the Haryana Police, which had managed to intercept the vehicle in Karnal and arrest the accused persons with the IEDS,” he said.

Rinda was mastermind of terror modules busted earlier

Notably, Rinda, a notorious gangster active in Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtr­a and Haryana is a history-sheeter and wanted by the Punjab Police in heinous crimes, including murder, contract killing, robbery, extortion and snatching.

Rinda, who has settled in Pakistan, was also the mastermind of the Nawanshahr grenade blast on CIA police station.

The module from which a tiffin bomb was recovered from Una in Himachal Pradesh and which hurled grenades at police post in Kalma Morh was also directed by Rinda, the police have claimed. Rinda’s name also cropped up the Ludhiana court blast in December last year in which one person was killed.

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