E-Paper
Rajasthan Police arrests suspects for plotting I-Day attack in Delhi, linked to Lawrence Bishnoi gang
The ADGP informed that the three had thrown a grenade in front of a liquor shop in Punjab’s Nawanshahr and fled to Rajasthan.
The Rajasthan Police announced the arrest of three persons allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, along with detaining three minors for allegedly planning to carry out terror strikes in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior on Independence Day.
The arrested persons have been identified as Jitendra Chaudhary, a native of Tonk, Sanjay, a native of Hanumangarh district, and Sonu alias Kali, from Kapurthala, Punjab.
According to the additional crime branch director general of police (ADGP) Dinesh MN, quoted in an Indian Express report, the three accused were arrested from Jaipur and Tonk districts last week and handed over to the Punjab Police’s Amritsar Special Operation Cell. The accused were wanted in connection with a July 7 blast in Nawanshahr, Punjab. He also said that three minors were also detained during the operation.
The ADGP informed that the three had thrown a grenade in front of a liquor shop in Punjab’s Nawanshahr and fled to Rajasthan. The motive behind the grenade attack was to spread terror and extort money. A case was filed under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) sections 49 (abetment outside India for offence in India), 55 (abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 61 (2) (Criminal conspiracy), as well as sections of the Arms Act by the Punjab police.
Following the Nawanshahr blast, a team led by the additional superintendent of police (ASP), Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Siddhant Sharma, went to Jaipur Range and Ajmer Range.
“The team concealed its identity and, without caring for their lives, worked hard to collect intelligence about the wanted and arrested them on August 10,” the ADG told the media.
The connection to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang
The accused were interrogated upon their arrest, and the police uncovered their alleged ties to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. According to the police, their handler is Zeeshan Akhtar, the alleged mastermind of the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddiqui in Mumbai. Zeeshan reportedly lives in Canada and was connected to the three accused through social media.
ADGP Dinesh MN also said that Zeeshan Akhtar, Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Manu Agwan and Gopi Nawanshahria are all allegedly connected with each other.
“They carry out criminal activities in different parts of the country and contact local youth by luring them with money to commit the crime. The accused in the present case are connected with Zeeshan Akhtar through Instagram and other online apps. Zeeshan Akhtar had also provided grenades to the accused for the Nawanshahr blast. He used to give instructions to them through online applications. He had also instructed them to carry out blasts in Delhi and Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, on Independence Day, August 15,” the ADG said.
Mumbai police had said in June that Zeeshan Akhtar had been detained in Canada. However, there has been little clarity on the case or Akhtar’s whereabouts since then.
