CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police on Thursday said that with the arrest of two operatives, it has busted an ISI-backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module preparing to commit high-impact terror attacks to disturb peace in the state.
The arrested accused have been identified as Akash Masih and Jablaun, both residents of the Dulla Nangal area of Gurdaspur district.
Both have a criminal past, police said.
The arrests led to a significant recovery of arms and ammunition. This included five hand grenades, two special detonators, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) material entailing 1 kilogram of explosive packed with nails, push-to-talk timer with coder and decoder, 9-volt battery, one Baofeng walkie-talkie with cable, and trigger mechanism, they said.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the module was busted in a joint operation by the Amritsar Rural Police, Gurdaspur Police, the Counter Intelligence Wing's State Special Operation Cell in Amritsar, and Central agencies.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Border Range) Sandeep Goel said preliminary investigations revealed that the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence)-backed terror module was being operated by foreign-based handlers.
Further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages and to unearth the entire conspiracy and local support networks, he said.
Giving details of the arrest of the two individuals, Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Aditya said that police conducting a special check at the T-point in Jogowal Bedia village signalled two youngsters arriving on a motorcycle to stop. However, on seeing the police, they tried to take a U-turn and flee.
The police team managed to intercept them. On inspection, they found the pillion rider holding two bags, blue and yellow, covered in cloth. The bags contained explosive materials and devices.
Forensic and bomb disposal teams who were summoned to the spot defused the explosives and grenades, SSP Aditya said.
He said an FIR was registered at Kalanaur police station in Gurdaspur under relevant sections of the Explosive Substances Act.