Tarn Taran RPG attack: Two juveniles among six arrested; gangster Landa mastermind

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav says police cracked the case in less than a week with the busting of a foreign-controlled terrorist module, leading to the arrest of the six accused for the December 9 attack

Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav on Friday said Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa Harike, was the mastermind behind the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on Sarhali police station in the border district of Tarn Taran on December 9.

Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh Landa masterminded the rocket-propelled grenade attack (RPG) on the police station at Sarhali in Tarn Taran district of Punjab on December 9. (HT file photo)

Addressing a press conference at Punjab Police headquarters in Chandigarh on Friday, the director general of police said the police cracked the case in less than a week with the busting of a foreign-controlled terrorist module, leading to the arrest of six accused, including two juveniles.

Yadav said the terror attack was masterminded by foreign-based wanted terrorists Landa Harike, Satbir Singh, alias Satta, and Gurdev, alias Jaisel, with the help of Ajmeet Singh, who is lodged in the Goindwal Sahib jail at present.

Apart from the arrest of two juveniles in conflict with law, the remaining four module members arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi Numberdar, 18, of Naushera Pannua; Gurlal Singh, alias Gahla, 19, of Chola Sahib; Surlalpal Singh, alias Gurlal, alias Lali, 21, of Thathiya Mahanta village; and Jobanpreet Singh, alias Joban, 18, of Naushra Pannua.

Hand-grenade recovered

The foreign-based handlers used cutouts and dead letter box (DLB) techniques to retrieve the consignment and establish contact so that the module members were assigned tasks directly by the handlers and were aware of only their roles. Even the identities of sub-modules remained hidden from other sub-modules.

The police teams recovered three pistols, two .32-bore and one .30-bore along with ammunition, one hand-grenade P-86 and a motorcycle used in the crime from the accused.

The Soviet-era made single-use 70mm calibre RPG-26 weapon, which was used to carry out the attack at Sarhali police station at 11.18pm on December 9, was recovered on December 10. The RPG-26 weapon, which was used by the Mujahdeen in Afghanistan, was sourced from across the border.

Yadav said that the Taran Taran police, in coordination with the counter intelligence wing of Punjab Police conducted meticulous investigation based on technical and intelligence inputs.

The investigations on ground were led by Tarn Taran SSP Gurmeet Chauhan and his team and revealed that the attack was the handiwork of Gopi Numberdar and Gurlal Gahla, who were directly in touch with Landa Harike and Satta Naushehra. Both Gopi Numberdar and Gurlal Gahla were apprehended from Patti Morh in Sarhali on Thursday and a .32 pistol along with 15 cartridges was recovered from them.

The police team recovered the hand-grenade on the disclosure of Gopi Numberdar, he said.

Initially, Gopi had received funding of ₹8.5 lakh and a .30-bore pistol along with a chunk of 200 cartridges from Landa and Satta, said the DGP, while adding that on December 1, 2022, Gopi along with Gurlal Gahla and Jobanpreet Joban retrieved another consignment containing the RPG from Jhander village in Tarn Taran and dumped it at a spot near Marhana village in the same district.

During questioning, Gopi Numberdar and Gurlal Gahla admitted that the two juveniles were tasked by Landa and Satta to execute the attack on Sarhali police station to create terror. Both accused said that another accused, Gurlal Lali, provided logistic support and handed over ₹1 lakh to both the juveniles, who were camping at Marhana village a few hours before the attack on the police station at 11.18pm on December 9.

The police arrested Joban and Gurlal Lali from near Naushehra Pannuan and recovered a .30-bore pistol along with 35 cartridges and a motorcycle used in the crime from him.

Learnt to operate RPG from YouTube

The DGP said that during interrogation, Joban corroborated the disclosure of Gopi regarding retrieval of the RPG and disclosed that on the instructions of Landa and Satta, he had picked a juvenile from Shahbajpur village and dropped him at Marhana on instructions of Jaisel.

“Connecting the dots, the police teams caught both the juvenile attackers from a tubewell at Chamba village and recovered a .32-bore pistol along with 15 cartridges from them,” he said, adding after the attack, they both fled to Saido village and took shelter in a tubewell room already arranged by Landa. Both shooters learnt to operate the RPG from YouTube videos and were given instructions by Landa in a video call as well, he said.