IB, ANTITERROR UNIT QUIZ MAN BEHIND PLOT TO TARGET BADAL

PATIALA : Teams from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), New Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad interrogated German Singh, an alleged pro-Khalistani group member, arrested on October 18 (Thursday) for planning to target Akali Dal patriach and former chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, on Friday. A local court had remanded German to five-day police custody on Friday.

A senior police official confirmed that the teams had camped in Patiala on Saturday. “German was even taken to undisclosed locations at Samana in Patiala district, his maternal home and in Rupnagar district,” a senior official said, on the condition of anonymity. German was arrested from Naogaon village in Bikaner district of Rajasthan in a joint operation of Patiala and Rajasthan police.

The plot by Khalistani elements to target Badal was unearthed during the interrogation of three criminals, who had been arrested from Shamli by the UP police on October 15. The three accomplices —Amarjeet alias Amrit of Karnal, Gurjant alias Jinta of Saharanpur and Karan Singh of Jhinjhana in Shamli — had looted an Insas gun and other weapons from constable Sandra Singh and home guard Sanjay Verma on October 2.

German, who was also with them, had given the police the slip that day.

After interrogation of these three men, the UP police had said that German was well-connected with Khalistani sympathisers and had stored a cache of arms in a Rupnagar village.

Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu refused to share details, on the grounds that this would hamper investigation.