Chandigarh, April 9 – In a major breakthrough, the Punjab Police’s teams from Amritsar Rural and Gurdaspur, along with the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of the Counter Intelligence Wing, have busted an ISI-sponsored Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module with the arrest of its two operatives. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav announced this on Thursday.
The two arrested individuals, Akash Masih and Jablaun, are residents of Dulla Nangal in Gurdaspur. They have a criminal background.
DGP Yadav stated that the arrest of these two individuals led to the recovery of significant items, including five hand grenades, two special detonators, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) timer with a coder and decoder, a 9V battery, improvised explosive device (IED) material (including one kg of high explosive packed with nails), and a Baofeng walkie-talkie with cable and trigger mechanism.
He added that the recovery indicated that the module was preparing to carry out high-impact terror attacks aimed at disrupting public peace in the state.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Border Range, Sandeep Goel, said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the ISI-backed terror module was being operated by handlers based abroad.
He said that further investigation is underway to establish the links and to uncover the entire conspiracy and local support networks.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Gurdaspur, Aditya, shared operational details during a special police check at T-Point Jogowal Bedia. He said that two young men were seen approaching on a motorcycle from the direction of Jogowal Bedia village.
Upon seeing the police, the suspects attempted to make a U-turn to flee, he added, stating that police teams managed to intercept them.
The SSP said that the pillion rider was holding two bags – one blue and one yellow – covered with a cloth. Upon searching the bags, explosive material and devices were recovered from their possession, he said, adding that forensic and bomb disposal teams were immediately summoned to the spot, and the explosives and grenades were successfully defused. A first information report was registered on April 8 under Sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act at the police station in Kalanaur in Gurdaspur.
