Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh
Chandigarh, Apr 30: In a significant breakthrough, Punjab Police’s Amritsar Commissionerate has successfully averted a potential grenade attack targeting police establishments by arresting five individuals associated with a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module backed by Pakistan’s ISI, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav announced on Wednesday.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Naresh Kumar alias Babbu, Abhinav Bhagat alias Abhi, Ajay Kumar alias Ajju, Sunny Kumar — all residents of Haripura in Amritsar — and a 17-year-old juvenile. The police also recovered a hand grenade, a country-made .32 caliber pistol, and five live cartridges during the operation.
According to DGP Yadav, the terror module was being operated remotely by gangster Jiwan Fauji, who is currently based abroad. Fauji is believed to have orchestrated the module's activities in Punjab’s border districts, recruiting and radicalizing the accused to carry out acts of terror.
Investigations have revealed that the accused were provided with motorcycles and were instructed to retrieve weapon consignments from the Ajnala sector. “The group was actively plotting grenade attacks on police facilities,” Yadav stated, adding that a deeper probe is underway to trace both forward and backward linkages of the network.
Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar provided further details, stating that during a follow-up recovery operation, one of the accused — Ajay Kumar — attempted to escape custody. In a bid to flee, he tried to snatch a police officer’s service weapon and opened fire on the team. Police responded with controlled force, injuring him in the leg. He is currently being treated at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.
Commissioner Bhullar also revealed that the arrested group was involved in providing logistical support to gunmen who recently opened fire on a shopkeeper in Mahal village, Amritsar. The nexus is being investigated for broader connections to recent acts of violence in the region.
A case has been registered under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Islamabad Police Station, Amritsar, and further interrogations are expected to shed light on additional collaborators and planned attacks.