E-Paper
Pilibhit encounter: Khalistani terrorists gave fake IDs at hotel, say cops
2 locals who accompanied the three suspected Khalistani terrorists to a local hotel taken into police custody
The three suspected Khalistani terrorists, who were killed in an encounter with a joint team of Punjab Police and Uttar Pradesh Police on December 23, stayed at a local hotel on Puranpur highway and presented fake identity cards at the reception, police officials said on Thursday.
Pilibhit superintendent of police (SP) Avinash Pandey said the three deceased fake IDs showed them as residents of Aadarsh Nagar, Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.
“The three deceased — Gurwinder Singh, 25, Virendra Singh alias Ravi, 23, Jasan Preet Singh alias Pratap Singh, 18, of Gurdaspur — had stayed in a hotel on Puranpur highway on fake identity cards. Gurwinder presented IDs that mentioned him as Manjeet Singh, Virendra as Kuldeep Singh and Jasan Preet Singh as Heera Singh. The trio was shown as residents of Aadarsh Nagar, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh,” the SP said.
“The ATS is also trying to ascertain the identities of people who helped them during their hotel stay and in bringing them from Punjab to Pilibhit. Two locals had been spotted accompanying them when they entered the hotel around 8 pm on December 20. The trio left the hotel around 9:30 pm on December 21. They were killed in an encounter on December 23,” SP Pandey added.
Two locals have been taken into custody and their questioning has revealed that the trio reached Pilibhit with the help of a bus operator, who runs a daily bus service from Lakhimpur Kheri to Amritsar.
“The operator, who was still out of police reach, is suspected of helping them leave Punjab after the attack on a police outpost on December 18. The trio travelled from Punjab to Pilibhit via Delhi with the help of the bus operator as it was difficult to move in public transport with ammunition,” a police official, privy to the probe, added.
The official, who didn’t wish to be named, said a family of Lakhimpur Kheri, who are close relatives of one of the killed militants, were also on the radar of security agencies and are being quizzed.
Officials said UP ATS and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) are trying to identify pro-Khalistan sympathisers, who provided shelter to three alleged Khalistani terrorists.
Security agencies are trying to expose the existing nexus of pro-Khalistan supporters in the Terai belt, including Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Shahjahanpur, Bareilly and Badaun. This region comprising a large population of Sikhs is said to be a safe haven for extremists. In June, an alert was sounded when posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who led the Khalistan movement, and other separatists were put up outside gurdwaras in Pilibhit and Bareilly.
Two AK rifles and two Glock pistols, along with a huge cache of ammunition were recovered from the accused after the encounter.
