The Punjab police on Sunday said it had busted a terrorist module of the revived Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) that was conspiring to unleash a series of terrorist strikes in Punjab and adjoining States. The module was backed by the Pakistan-based chief of the KZF, Ranjeet Singh, alias Neeta, and his Germany-based associate, Gurmeet Singh, alias Bagga.
Four persons were arrested and and a huge cache of arms, including five AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades, seized.
The module was planning to carry out multiple terrorist strikes in J&K, Punjab and other States.
Given the international links and ramifications of the conspiracy, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has decided to hand over further investigations to the National Investigation Agency to ensure that the conspiracy is fully and expeditiously unravelled.
With initial investigations revealing the use of drones to deliver terrorists weapons and communication hardware across the border, the Chief Minister urged the Union government to direct the Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force to launch counter-measures to check any threat from drones to the border State.
Director-General of Police Dinkar Gupta said the weapons were suspected to have been delivered recently across the border from Pakistan through drones.
Mr. Gupta said the aim was to scale up terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and the Indian hinterland, in the wake of the recent developments in the Valley.
“In an operation carried out by Ketan Baliram Patil, Additional Inspector-General, Counter Intelligence, Amritsar, along with various Punjab police teams based in Chandigarh, four module members were arrested and a large quantity of arms, ammunition, explosives and communication devices seized. The terrorists were arrested from the outskirts of the Chola Sahib village in Tarn Taran district,” he said.
Neeta and Bagga had reorganised their terror group. “With the help of sleeper cells, they had spotted, radicalised and recruited local members, besides arranging funds and sophisticated weapons from across the border,” Mr. Gupta said.
“Those arrested have been identified as Balwant Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh,” he added.
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