Punjab seeks Shah’s help on airdropped arms

CHANDIGARH: Two days after a Punjab Police probe revealed use of drones to deliver weapons from across the border, chief minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said this has added a “new and serious dimension on Pakistan’s sinister designs” after abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

He urged Union home minister Amit Shah to handle the issue at the earliest.

The Punjab Police on Sunday had claimed to have busted a terror module of the Khalistan Zindabad Force, backed by a group based in Pakistan and Germany.

It said the terror group was conspiring to unleash a series of strikes in Punjab and adjoining states.

Singh on Tuesday tweeted, “Recent incidents of Pakistanorigin drones dropping consignments of arms & ammunition is a new and serious dimension on Pakistan’s sinister designs in aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. Request @AmitShah ji to ensure that this drone problem is handled at the earliest.” Four members of the terror module were arrested in Tarn Taran district of Punjab on Sunday.

During initial investigations, it came to the fore that weapons and communication hardware were dropped using drones from Pakistan.

Five AK-47 rifles, 16 magazines and 472 rounds of ammunition, four Chinese-made .30 bore pistols, along with eight magazines and 72 rounds of ammunition; nine hand grenades, five satellite phones with their ancillary equipment, two mobile phones, two wireless sets and fake currency with the f ace value of ₹ 10 l akh were seized.

The Punjab chief minister had on Sunday urged the Centre to alert the Air Force and the Border Security Force about the possibility of drones being used to supply weapons from across the border and also direct them to launch necessary countermeasures.

Punjab government had also decided to hand over further investigations to the National Investigation Agency, given the international links and ramifications of the conspiracy.