The state police claimed to have busted an ISI-backed terror module with the arrest of five persons linked to the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). They were allegedly planning strikes in parts of the country ahead of the Independence Day.
According to the police, the five were arrested in a joint operation with the Rajasthan Police from Tonk and Jaipur districts, also leading to the recovery of arms and explosives.
The police said the operatives were tasked by their handlers with carrying out grenade attacks in the run-up to Independence Day.
The network was allegedly being operated by Canada-based gangster Zeeshan Akhtar, BKI operative Mannu Agwan and Gopi Nawashehria, acting on instructions from Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International mastermind Harwinder Singh Rinda.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said the module had planned an attack inside a liquor store in SBS Nagar.
Among those arrested was wanted gangster Sonu, alias Kali, a resident of Alamgir in Kapurthala district, who is facing multiple serious criminal cases.
The arrested persons from Jaipur include three minors. They were held following coordinated raids by the Punjab’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) and the Rajasthan Police. The operation was supervised by Rajasthan Additional Director
General (Crime) Dinesh MN and AGTF Additional Superintendent of Police Siddhant Sharma.
Intelligence inputs from the Punjab Police had prompted the interstate crackdown, with teams tracking suspects across known criminal hotspots.
During a follow-up recovery operation in the Behram area near Phagwara on Tuesday morning, Sonu allegedly opened fire on police personnel and sustained a gunshot wound in the leg in retaliatory action.
He was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Nawanshahr, for treatment.
The operation resulted in the seizure of a hand grenade, .30 bore pistol, two live cartridges, and two empty shells.
Investigation revealed that he maintained regular contact with their handlers through Instagram and other online platforms, and that they were recruiting people by promising with financial incentives to execute violent acts.
Police sources said the dismantled module forms part of a wider nexus linking Pakistan-based terrorists, Canada-based gangsters and Indian criminal syndicates such as the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The authorities believe the group’s handlers, including Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti, coordinated the supply of weapons and explosives to local recruits for attacks aimed at spreading fear
and instability.
The Punjab Police have registered a first information report under Sections 109,3,4,5,324(5),61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Explosive Substances Act at the Nawanshahr city police station.