Arrest of ISI-backed terrorists prevented major terror attack: Punjab DGP
Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 May, 2022 10:01 AM
Chandigarh, May 5 (IANS) Describing the arrest of four Pakistan's ISI-backed terrorists and preventing a major terror attack as a well coordinated operation, Punjab Police on Thursday said they successfully averted a possible terrorist attack.
However, police officials refuted claims of attempts by the ISI to revive terrorism in the state, saying such acts were part of its nefarious designs.
The arrested accused were identified as Gurpreet Singh, Amandeep Singh and Parminder Singh, residents of Vinjoke village in Zira, Ferozepur; and Bhupinder Singh of Bhatian village in Ludhiana.
They were arrested at Karnal in Haryana by the state police following inputs from the Punjab police.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab V.K. Bhawra told the media here that a Central agency earlier shared an input that some suspects, who may be carrying explosive material and weapons are moving in the border districts of Fazilka and Ferozepur.
Subsequent to this input, police teams led by Commandant Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh and SHO (Fazilka) Satinderdeep Singh Brar along with teams from the Central agency were on a manhunt on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday to nab these suspects, he said.
The teams had jointly identified suspected locations in the districts of Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot and SAS Nagar.
The DGP said the suspects were found to be moving in the area of Ferozepur and later they started going in a white Innova vehicle DL1VB7869 towards Ludhiana.
"The suspects took the national highway and started moving towards Ambala, when acting promptly, Punjab Police shared the development with Haryana Police, which managed to intercept the vehicle in Karnal and arrested the accused persons with IEDs," the DGP told IANS.
During preliminary interrogation, the accused have revealed that they were working for Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda.
Rinda, a notorious gangster active in Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra and Haryana, is a history-sheeter and is wanted by the Punjab Police in heinous crimes, including murder, contract killing, robbery, extortion and snatching.
Several Supreme Court advocates on Monday claimed to have received an international call with a recorded message asking the apex court not to help the Central government by taking up a case connected with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach in Punjab last week.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress are projected to poll 40 per cent and 36 per cent votes in Punjab, respectively, as per the ABP-CVOTER Battle for the States survey. The 117-member Punjab Assembly will go to the polls on February 14, and the counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
The highest quantity has been procured from Punjab (1,86,85,53 MT) followed by Chhattisgarh (67,65,986 MT) and Telangana (65,54,739 MT) while the highest number of farmers benefitted in are Chhattisgarh (16,90,459), Telangana (9,67,134) and Punjab (9,24,299).
Hockey is one of the most popular sports in Punjab and many players from the state have been integral parts of the national team. The 117-member Punjab Assembly will go to the polls on February 14, while the counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court to secure and preserve all records in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, and also asked the state and Central committees to refrain from conducting inquiries till Monday, when it will take up the matter again.
India on Friday revised the existing guidelines for all international arrivals in India in view of the rising Covid cases and the Omicron threat, to make seven days home quarantine mandatory. The new guidelines will be effective from January 11 till further notice.
