Punjab Police on Tuesday busted a Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-backed Babbar Khalsa International terror network with the arrest of five persons from Tonk and Jaipur districts of Rajasthan.
One of the arrested accused was injured in an exchange of fire with the police while being taken for recovery, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said, adding that the terror module attacked a liquor store in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on August 7 and was further tasked with carrying out such blasts on Independence Day.
Police recovered a hand grenade and a .30-bore pistol along with two cartridges and two empty shells of .30-bore from them.
“In a major breakthrough against #Pakistan’s ISI-backed terror network, Counter Intelligence, #Jalandhar, in a joint operation with @SBSNagarPolice busts a #BKI terror network operated by foreign-based handlers Mannu Agwan, Gopi Nawashehria and Zeeshan Akhtar on the directions of Pakistan-based BKI operative Harwinder Rinda,” Yadav said in a post on X.
“Five operatives apprehended from Tonk and Jaipur districts and successfully averted further planned attacks,” he said. Three of the five arrested are minor, while the other two have been identified as Ritik, 19, of Jaipur and Sonu Kumar, 21, of Kala Sanghian in Kapurthala district.
The police said Sonu was taken for identification of the location where he and his accomplices had kept recovered ammunition. “The accused tried to flee from police custody following which the police party opened fire in which he suffered bullet injury in one of his legs,” the DGP said.
According to the DGP, the accused were receiving direct instructions from Zeeshan Akhtar and BKI mastermind Mannu Agwan, who is working in close coordination with Pakistan-based BKI operative Harwinder Rinda.
{{/usCountry}}According to the DGP, the accused were receiving direct instructions from Zeeshan Akhtar and BKI mastermind Mannu Agwan, who is working in close coordination with Pakistan-based BKI operative Harwinder Rinda.
{{/usCountry}}One of the arrested accused was injured in an exchange of fire with police while being taken for recovery. He opened fire at police and sustained injuries in retaliatory action. He is undergoing treatment at Civil Hospital, SBS Nagar.
A case was registered at Nawanshahr police station in SBS Nagar, he said.
On August 7, unidentified miscreants set a liquor shop on fire by throwing flammable material in SBS Nagar.
A social media post shared from an unauthenticated page of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) claimed it to be a grenade attack on the shop. The post claimed that the liquor vend owners were asked to shut the shop permanently as it was causing nuisance in the area.