PUNJAB POLICE BUSTS TERROR MODULE LINKED TO BANNED ISYF, 3 ISI-TRAINED MILITANTS NABBED

PUNJAB POLICE BUSTS TERROR MODULE LINKED TO BANNED ISYF, 3 ISI-TRAINED MILITANTS NABBED

SUSPECTS WERE PLANNING TO CARRY OUT TERROR ATTACKS AGAINST `ANTI-SIKH’, `ANTI-PANTHICS’

Nabaz-e-Punjab Bureau, Chandigarh, June 4:
In yet another major breakthrough, the Punjab Police on Saturday arrested three terrorists and busted a terror module having direct links with Pakistan’s ISI-backed banned terror outfit, International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF).
The arrested terrorists, Gurdial Singh, Jagroop Singh and Satwinder Singh, had been trained and tasked by the ISI to carry out terror attacks and target various ‘anti-panthic and anti-Sikh forces/individuals’ by Pakistan-based ISYF chief Lakhbir Rode, and Harmeet Singh alias Happy alias PHD.
Preliminary investigations by the Punjab Police have also revealed that a part of the consignment of arms and ammunition seized by the BSF on May 21 this year close to the international border in Amritsar, was supplied by ISYF. Two terrorists, Maan Singh and Sher Singh, had been arrested by the BSF last month, while they were attempting to pick up the said consignment.
According to a Punjab Police spokesperson, while Gurdial (s/o Mehnga Singh) hails from Road Majara, PS Garhshankar, District Hoshiarpur, both Jagroop (s/o Avtar Singh) and Satiwinder (s/o Gurmail Singh) are residents of Chandpur Rurki, PS Pojewal, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar District. A .32 bore pistol, with one magazine and 10 cartridges and a .38 bore revolver, with 7 cartridges, was recovered from the suspects.
While Gurdial and Jagroop were arrested from their native homes, Satwinder was apprehended at a Police Checkpoint close to his village in Pojewal Police station in Balachaur sub-division.
The spokesperson said Gurdial Singh was the chief operative of this terror module and was introduced to Lakhbir Singh Rode, who is staying in a ISI provided safe house in Lahore cantonment, by Germany based Balvir Singh Sandhu. Gurdial had met Rode several times during his visits to Pakistan, as part of religious jathas, in the last 6-7 years.
During his last visit of Pakistan in November 2016, Gurdial Singh had arranged a visa for Jagroop Singh and he had travelled to Lahore with a Jatha. During interrogation, the duo revealed that during his stay in Lahore (November 12-21, 2016), Jagroop met Rode and Harmeet through Balvir.
Jagroop confessed that he was taken to the ISYF chief blindfolded at an undisclosed location and imparted a four-day training course by the ISI in handing AK-47 rifle and smaller weapons. He was also trained in techniques of sabotaging railway tracks by loosening the securing/fastening mechanisms of fish-plates, nuts and bolts.
The spokesperson said that both Gurdial and Jagroop were tasked to carry out terrorist attacks in India and also motivated to target various ‘anti-panthic and anti-Sikh forces/individuals’. Lakhbir Rode and his associates had promised to provide them arms and ammunition across the border in India.
The interrogation of the suspects has also revealed that during his visits to Pakistan, Gurdial was in regular touch with Balvir, who originally hails from village Paddi Surat Singh, PS Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur. Gurdial had also been in touch with some militant groups in J&K.
The spokesperson said that Satwinder was also an active member of this ‘action group’ and, along with Jagroop, he was directly in touch with his mentors in Pakistan and Germany. Both Gurdial and Balvir have terrorist backgrounds, with criminal cases registered against them in 1992 and 1988. A Thompson gun had been recovered from Gurdial in 1992.
The spokesperson said that the terrorists were nabbed after a meticulous intelligence-led operation of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar District police. They have been booked u/s 121,121A, 120B of the IPC, Sec 25,54 and 59 of the Arms Act and Sec 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Act, vide FIR No.28, and further investigations are in progress.