LUCKNOW: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh police arrested three youths and detained a juvenile in Lucknow for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to kill a member of the Army or police force or attack a police establishment while recording a video of the incident, on the instructions of their Pakistan-based handler.
The motive of their handler, linked to the banned Shahzad Bhatti network, was to create fear among people, said the ATS sources.
The accused, held on Friday, were identified as Gagandeep Singh (26) and Rajat Kumar (19) of Amritsar and Krish (21), of neighbouring Gurdaspur district, said the ATS sources.
The juvenile, 17, is also from Punjab, said the ATS authorities.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said the ATS would seek police custody of the accused for further questioning and identify their other associates and the network supplying them weapons and financial help. Moreover, the ATS sleuths also recovered a foreign-made pistol and 20 cartridges from their possession.
In a statement released to media, the ATS claimed to have received intelligence inputs that some youths from Punjab with alleged links to the Shahzad Bhatti network were planning to kill an Armyman or a policeman or attack a police establishment in India.
Further probe revealed that Gagandeep and his associates were in touch with Rana Bhai, an active member of the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti network, said the ATS sources adding all four were travelling to Lucknow on the instructions of Rana to carry out attack.
They were supposed to record the killing and send the video to Rana Bhai, said the ATS authorities.
They also conducted reconnaissance of sensitive establishments, recorded their locations and shared the information with their handler, it was alleged.
All four were booked at the ATS police station in Lucknow. The accused set out from Amritsar on October 27 and crossed Delhi before reaching Lucknow on Thursday (October 29) midnight, the ATS added.
They communicated with their handler Rana Bhai through Instagram and WhatsApp, it was alleged.
The officials said Rana transferred Rs 2,585 to them to cover their travel expenses and after reaching Lucknow, the accused recorded a video of the city railway station and sent it to their handler. They were promised Rs 3 lakh after the targeted killing and were instructed to flee to Nepal to evade arrest, the officials claimed.
"During the interrogation, the accused admitted that Rana Bhai had promised to send weapons and ammunition from Pakistan and would be handed over to them by a local contact in Lucknow. The contact person provided them with the firearm and cartridges seized from them," said an ATS officer.
The ATS sources said their mobile phones yielded suspicious chats and videos and that they were using WhatsApp accounts activated through virtual numbers to communicate with their foreign handlers.