RDX-laden car was headed for Delhi

The retrieval of the stolen TATA Indica car laden with RDX in Ambala, allegedly meant to perpetrate ‘an act of terrorism’ in Delhi during Diwali, is part of ISI’s phased plan to resurrect Sikh militancy in India, claim sources in the Delhi Police Special Cell.

The retrieval of the stolen TATA Indica car laden with RDX in Ambala, allegedly meant to perpetrate ‘an act of terrorism’ in Delhi during Diwali, is part of ISI’s phased plan to resurrect Sikh militancy in India, claim sources in the Delhi Police Special Cell.

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According to the sources, the consignment of explosives was procured and delivered in Ambala by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives who were to hand it over to the members of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) before smuggling it into the Capital.

“The previous phase involved helping organise and consolidate amateur, Islamist outfits; now, since such outfits have more or less served their purpose for close to half a decade, the ISI’s main aim is to resurrect Sikh militancy in the country,” said a senior police officer.

And the ISI’s main man for the purpose at the moment is Balwinder Hawara, currently understood to be based in and operating the BKI from Islamabad, the source said.

BKI began as a loosely organised resistance movement during late ’70s and has been led by Hawara since 2006.

“The LeT realised that measures against Islamist weren’t proving too effective given their amateurish nature. So, they are now providing tactical and logistical support to the BKI, given its more or less international nature and organisational structure,” the officer said.

The BKI, the police believe, is in a better position tactically compared to its home-grown counterparts, given the domicile status of many of its members in countries such as the UK, Canada and even the US.

Had the explosives reached their destination, they were most likely to have been used in the signature BKI style — a blast in a cinema complex during Diwali.