Punjab Police bust Pak-backed Babbar Khalsa International terror module

Chandigarh, June 21 (IANS) In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled a Pakistan-backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module being operated by UK-based handler Dharam Singh, alias Dharma Sandhu, with the arrest of a local operative and recovered six sophisticated foreign-made pistols from his possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

The arrested accused has been identified as Onkar Singh, alias Nawab, a resident of Jalalusma village in Amritsar.

The weapons, smuggled via drones from across the Indo-Pak border, includes four 9MM Glock pistols and two .30 bore PX5 pistols.

DGP Yadav said that the foreign-based handler Dharam Singh, alias Dharma Sandhu, who has been operating the terror module, is a close associate of Pakistan-based terrorist Harvinder Singh, alias Rinda.

Further investigations are underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case and unearth the broader network, he said.

Sharing operation details, Commissioner of Police (Amritsar) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that the arrest followed precise intelligence and coordination.

“The accused disclosed during questioning that the weapons were delivered via drones and were meant for disruptive activities,” he added.

He said that preliminary investigations revealed the accused was part of a sleeper cell activated by foreign-based handlers to destabilise the state.

“The weapons were to be distributed among local operatives to execute targeted killings and terror activities in state. We are working to uncover the entire network and its international linkages,” said Bhullar, while adding that further investigations are underway to identify other accomplices and handlers.

A case has been registered under Section 25 of the Arms Act at the police station in Maqboolpura in Amritsar.

--IANS

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