Three days after busting a Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terror module, police on Wednesday arrested the brother of its Germany-based handler, Gurmeet Singh Bagga alias Doctor, who had allegedly re-organised the terrorist group to revive terrorism in Punjab.
The arrested man has been identified as Gudev Singh, 39, of Jhajjan village, which falls under Tanda police station of Hoshiarpur district.
A police official privy to the development said Gurdev had introduced his brother Bagga to accused Maan Singh in Amritsar jail. Gurdev had been in the jail from March to September 2018 in a terror case of 2010, he said.
On Sunday, police had arrested Balwant Singh Nihang, Akashdeep Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh from Chola Sahib village in Tarn Taran and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from them.
Preliminary investigations had revealed that Maan Singh, lodged in Amritsar jail lodged in Amritsar jail since 2017 in a case under the Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), had recruited 20-year-old Akashdeep in KZF at the behest of Bagga.
The four accused and Maan Singh, who was brought on production warrant, are in police remand till October 3.
{{/usCountry}}The four accused and Maan Singh, who was brought on production warrant, are in police remand till October 3.
{{/usCountry}}“During the interrogation of Maan Singh, we came to know that Gurdev Singh introduced him to his brother Bagga. Gurdev, along with Maan Singh and Akashdeep in the jail, had hatched the conspiracy to get arms and ammunition from Pakistan,” said a senior police official involved in the investigation.
Maan Singh, a resident of Samurai village in Gurdaspur district, was arrested along with Sher Singh of Kartarpur in Jalandhar, in a joint operation by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police in May 2017. Later, a cache of arms and ammunition buried close to the Indo-Pak border was recovered at their instance.
Akashdeep, who was lodged in the jail in a case registered against him under Section 307 (attempt to murder), got bail a few months ago.
The official said, “As per preliminary investigation, Gurdev had visited Pakistan eight times. Like his brother, he was also in contact with some Pakistan-based entities. He was wanted in a case registered against him under the UAPA, Explosives Act and Arms Act in Amritsar in 2010. He had fled to Thailand and was deported in February 2018. He was arrested from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after his extradition. He was sent to Amritsar jail and was granted bail in September 2018.”
He said, “The investigation has revealed that the accused were yet to get instructions for using the arms and ammunition. They had received the weapons from Pakistan-based chief of KZF, Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta, at the behest of Bagga.”
Earlier, an official of the counter-intelligence wing of Punjab police had said, “The location of Rajoke village in Tarn Taran, where the arms and ammunition were dropped through drones, was sent to Neeta by Akashdeep after he did a recce there.”
An official said that with the arrest of Gurdev, police will soon know the exact plan of the Germany-based handler about using the smuggled arms and ammunition.