Chandigarh, March 18 – In a major breakthrough, the Counter Intelligence (CI) unit in Bathinda, Punjab, has averted a major terror threat by arresting two suspects and recovering two hand grenades from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, here on Wednesday.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Buta Singh, also known as Gurpreet Singh and Gopu, a resident of Gillwali in Ferozepur, and Harmander Singh, also known as Nikka, a resident of Mothawali in Moga.
DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the recovered grenades were part of an illegal supply chain linked to cross-border elements, intended to disrupt peace and public safety in the border state.
The DGP said that further investigations are underway to establish forward and backward linkages and identify other individuals involved in this module.
Sharing operational details, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Avneet Kaur Sidhu, said that police teams had received credible information that two operatives linked to a terror module had retrieved hand grenades.
Acting swiftly on this information, the police launched an intelligence-led operation and apprehended both suspects from the Moga-Ferozepur Road, and recovered two hand grenades from their possession, she said.
The AIG said that the swift action by the CI teams thwarted a potential incident and neutralized a threat.
In this regard, a case FIR was registered on March 17 under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Explosives Act at the Police Station State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) in Fazilka.
Earlier, the Amritsar Rural Police had busted an ISI-sponsored terror and cross-border arms smuggling module on March 14, arresting two individuals and recovering one AK-47 rifle along with two magazines and 36 cartridges from their possession, among four sophisticated weapons.
DGP Yadav had said that preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were in contact with foreign-based handlers through social media, and the module was also involved in radicalization and spreading anti-India and anti-police narratives.