CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police has busted a Pakistan ISI-backed arms and explosives supply network, arrested six alleged operatives and solved the May 5 IED blast near Army Cantonment Khasa in Amritsar, foiling a conspiracy to attack police establishments, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.
Director General of Police, Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, said here on Tuesday that the police teams had arrested a total of six individuals across two interlinked cases and recovered one hand grenade and one 9MM pistol, along with five live cartridges, from their possession.
Those arrested in connection with the conspiracy to attack police establishments have been identified as Navdeep Singh, a resident of Fatehgarh Korotana in Dharamkot, Moga; Samuel alias Samu; and Sandeep Singh alias Tiddi, both residents of Menewala in Moga.
The three operatives arrested for executing the Khasa Cantonment IED blast have been identified as Ramandeep Singh, Jajpreet Singh, and Arshdeep Singh alias Kekra, all residents of Purani Dana Mandi in Attari, Amritsar.
Yadav said that preliminary investigation had revealed alleged links between the module and foreign-based smugglers and ISI operatives, with further investigation underway to uncover the complete network and establish backward and forward linkages.
Sharing operational details, Inspector General of Police (Border Range) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that, acting on actionable inputs shared by central agencies regarding operatives of cross-border handlers hatching a conspiracy to disrupt peace by attacking police buildings, Amritsar Rural Police teams acted swiftly, intercepted a motorcycle, and apprehended Navdeep Singh along with his associates Samuel alias Samu and Sandeep Singh alias Tiddi.
During their search, the police recovered one hand grenade and one 9MM pistol, along with five live cartridges, from their possession.
In this regard, a case has been registered under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act and Section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Gharinda.
Bhullar added that the crackdown had also successfully solved the IED explosion that took place on the night of May 5, 2026, around 11 pm, against the wall of Brigade Security, Cantt Khasa.
To solve the blind blast case, SSP Amritsar Rural Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising SP (Investigation) Ramandeep Singh, SP Operations Gagandeep Singh, DSP Detective Gurinderpal Singh Nagra, and DSP Attari Yadwinder Singh, he said.
Chahal said that teams led by In-charge CIA Inspector Manmeet Singh and SHO Gharinda Inspector Amandeep Singh had successfully apprehended accused Ramandeep Singh, Jajpreet Singh, and Arshdeep Singh alias Kekra following meticulous investigation and technical tracking.
In this regard, a case has also been registered under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act and Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at Police Station Gharinda.