Punjab: BKI-backed terror module busted, 2 operatives held

The Punjab Police on Sunday said it has busted a Babbar Khalsa International BKIbacked terror module and thwarted major disruptive activities in the state with the arrest of its two operativesThe module was busted by the Counter Intelligence CI teams from Pathankot and Ludhiana as well as the State Special Operations Cell SSOC in AmritsarDirector General of Police DGP Gaurav Yadav said the arrested have been identified as Sarwan Kumar a resident of Malhian village in Gurdaspur and Balwinder Singh a resident of Jakkriya in GurdaspurDuring a search police teams recovered a hand grenade and a pistol along with three live cartridges from their possessionThe development came in less than a week after CI Pathankot averted a target killing by busting a module of the same network with the four members including two juveniles and recovered two pistols from their possessionPreliminary investigations revealed that the accused were working on the directions of their foreignbased handlers who are allegedly backed by the BKI They were introduced to these handlers by an intermediary Yadav saidThe DGP confirmed that a case has been registered under relevant sections of the law and efforts are ongoing to trace and apprehend other members associated with this networkSharing further details Assistant Inspector General CI Pathankot Sukhminder Singh Mann said the accused were tasked to conduct a recce of various security establishments To execute the assignment they were provided with explosives and fundsThey were allegedly communicating with their handlers using encrypted apps and virtual phone numbers Mann mentionedThe AIG noted that further investigations are being conducted to unearth the complete BKIbacked network and investigate previous crimes committed by the arrested individualsIn a separate operation the AntiGangster Task Force AGTF of the Punjab Police arrested two suspected associates of the Prabh DassuwalGopi Ganshampur gang for their alleged involvement in a recent shooting incident at a salon in Patti Tarn TaranThe arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Gandhi a resident of Khadoor Sahib in Tarn Taran and Jaskaran alias Karan a resident of Phailoke village in Tarn Taran Police also recovered three countrymade 30 bore pistols from their possession according to YadavOn August 24 three individuals on motorcycles fired shots at a salon whose owner had been receiving extortion calls from unknown numbers for a few monthsYadav stated that the investigation revealed both accused were in touch with foreignbased gangster Prabh Dassuwal from the Gopi Ghanshampuria gang and executed the shooting on his orders to extort moneyAdditionally the accused were allegedly planning to commit a sensational crime in Punjab and frequently changed their location he saidThe DGP added that further investigation is underway to establish forward and backwards linkages in this case to unearth the entire networkAdditional Director General of Police AGTF Promod Ban confirmed receiving specific human and technical inputs about these two suspects hatching a conspiracy to commit a serious crime in the state Acting swiftly teams from the AGTF Punjab along with the Tarn Taran police apprehended the accused from Sarhali Road Kairon in Tarn Taran he saidSenior Superintendent of Police SSP Tarn Taran Deepak Pareek noted that both arrested individuals have a criminal history with previous cases involving murder theft and violations of the Arms Act registered against themThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever