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Tarn Taran RPG attack: ₹15k, revenge lured 2 juveniles into foreign handlers’ trap
A need of ₹15,000 and a grudge were excuses enough for the two juveniles, who fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) on Sarhali police station in Tarn Taran district, to fall into the trap of foreign handlers, police said.
A need of ₹15,000 and a grudge were excuses enough for the two juveniles, who fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) on Sarhali police station in Tarn Taran district, to fall into the trap of foreign handlers, police said.
The two juveniles were among six persons arrested by the Punjab Police on Friday for allegedly launching an RPG attack at the Sarhali police station on December 9.
Director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav had said that the attack’s mastermind was Canada-based gangster-turned-terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, who got the crime executed in collusion with his two European-based associates— Satbir Singh alias Satta and Gurdev Singh alias Jaisal.
“One of the juveniles was a school dropout while the other was studying. One of them came into Landa’s contact through a miscreant while the other came into Jaisal’s contact through a jail inmate,” said a senior police official, privy to the investigation.
“The minor who came into Landa’s contact needed ₹ 15,000. The minor had approached a miscreant for money. The miscreant then arranged a meeting with Landa, who paid the money and extracted a promise from the minor to perform a task for him in the future,” the official said.
He further said, “Similarly, the minor who came into Jaisal’s contact through a jail inmate wanted to take revenge. The juvenile was thrashed by his rivals over an issue in the past and a video clip of the incident had also surfaced. The minor had been holding a grudge and wanted to take revenge. Jaisal had assured him of helping him to take revenge.”
The DGP had said that one of the arrested accused, Gurlal Lali, had provided logistical support and also handed over ₹1 lakh to both the juveniles who were camping at village Marhana, a couple of hours before the attack.
The DGP had also said Landa had sent ₹8.5 lakh to one of the accused, Gopi Nambardar, for executing the entire operation.
This is not the first time Landa has taken advantage of desperate youth. Earlier in October, Amritsar police had arrested three persons—Balraj Singh, Atish Kumar and Avinash Kumar—for smuggling weapons, including AK-47 rifles. The police investigation later found that Atish was enrolled by Landa after he paid Atish ₹2 lakh for his father’s treatment.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said all the arrested accused have been on five-day police remand. He said their investigation to unravel the backward and forward linkages of all the accused was still on.
The police had also said one Ajmeet Singh, who is on a production warrant with the state special operation cell (SSOC), Amritsar, had hatched the conspiracy for the attack with Landa from inside the Goindwal Central Jail. Ajmeet was arrested a few months ago for killing a shopkeeper in Tarn Taran village.
Sources said Ajmeet will be brought on production warrant in the coming days by the Tarn Taran police in the RPG attack case for his further questioning.
