Man held for supplying arms to pro-Khalistanis

LUCKNOW: The UP Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Saturday arrested a man from Muzaffarnagar district for supplying firearms to pro-Khalistan groups of Punjab, officials said. The ATS officials said the suspect was arrested on the tip-off provided by Punjab police’s state special operation cell.

LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Saturday arrested a man from Muzaffarnagar district for supplying firearms to pro-Khalistan groups of Punjab, officials said.

The ATS officials said the suspect was arrested on the tip-off provided by Punjab police’s state special operation cell about his involvement in supplying over three dozen weapons to pro-Khalistan groups.

Inspector general (IG), UP ATS, Asim Arun said the suspect Sanjay Rathi alias Guddu, 25 was arrested from his house in Muzaffarnagar’s Etawa village.

He said Guddu’s name surfaced in connection with supply of firearms on the basis of information provided by pro-Khalistan group members Daljeet Singh Babbal and Satnam Singh Manni, who were arrested in Punjab a few weeks ago. He said the Punjab police had recovered two pistols, three magazines and nine cartridges from their possession.

Arun said the two men arrested in Punjab were members of a global Sikh separatists’ group known as Referendum 2020. “Rigorous interrogation of Guddu revealed he had sold over three dozen firearms to different groups in Punjab in the past 10-11 months,” the IG said.

“Guddu has been handed over to the Punjab police for further investigation but the ATS team is also looking into the arms supplier nexus in different districts of west Uttar Pradesh, including Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Moradabad,” he said.

In September 2017, one Tony was held from Lakhimpur Kheri for supplying fire-arms to Punjab’s dreaded gangster Gopi Ghanshampura, who allegedly hatched the jail break conspiracy to free three gangsters, Harjinder Singh Bhullar alias Vicky Gonder, Gurpreet Singh Sekhon alias Sonu Mudki and Kulpreet Singh alias Neeta Deol, lodged in Nabha jail of Punjab. Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh alias Mintoo, militant Kashmir Singh and a gangster Amandeep Dhotian had also escaped in the jailbreak.