NIA team visits two suspects’ houses in Tarn Taran, Amritsar

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday visited the houses of Balwant Singh and Akashdeep Singh — two of the alleged operatives of a Khalistan

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday visited the houses of Balwant Singh and Akashdeep Singh — two of the alleged operatives of a Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terror module — in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts.

HT Image

The module was busted by the Punjab Police on September 22.

A senior police official said the team will also visit the houses of other suspects. Earlier, the team had visited the sites where the drones had reportedly dropped the weapons.

Besides Balwant, also known as Baba and Nihang (45) and Akashdeep, alias Akash Randhawa (20), the police had also arrested Harbhajan Singh and Balbir Singh of Tanda in Hoshiarpur from Chola Sahib village in Tarn Taran district on September 22. A consignment of weapons, including five AK-47 rifles and hand grenades, reportedly flown from Pakistan through drones, were recovered from them.

The police in their preliminary probe found that Maan Singh (40) recruited Akashdeep at the behest of his Germany-based handler Gurmeet Singh, alias Bagga when both were lodged in the Amritsar jail. Maan , who is already facing a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act, was brought from jail on production warrant. Later on, the police had arrested Bagga’s brother Gurdev Singh. Three more persons—Sajanpreet Singh, Shubdeep Singh and Romandeep Singh—were also arrested in the case.

The Union ministry of home affairs had handed over the case to NIA on October 5.