Chandigarh, March 18 (IANS) In a major breakthrough, Counter Intelligence (CI) of Bathinda in Punjab has averted a major terror threat with the arrest of two accused and recovered two hand grenades from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, here on Wednesday.
Those arrested have been identified as Buta Singh, alias Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopu, a resident of Gillwali in Ferozepur and Harmander Singh, alias Nikka, a resident of Mothawali in Moga.
DGP Yadav said preliminary investigation has revealed that the recovered grenades were part of an illegal supply-chain linked to cross-border elements, intended to disrupt peace and public safety in the border state.
The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages and identify other associates involved in this module.
Sharing operational details, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Avneet Kaur Sidhu, said that police teams had received a reliable input that two operatives linked to a terror module had retrieved hand grenades.
Acting swiftly on the input, the police launched an Intelligence-led operation and apprehended both the suspects from Moga-Ferozepur Road and recovered two hand grenades from their possession, she said.
The AIG said that the swift action by CI teams thwarted an untoward incident and neutralised a potential threat.
In this regard, a case FIR on March 17 was registered under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Explosives Act at Police Station State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) in Fazilka.
Earlier, Amritsar Rural Police on March 14 busted an ISI-sponsored terror and cross-border arms smuggling module with the arrest of two and recovered one AK-47 rifle along with two magazines and 36 cartridges among four sophisticated weapons from their possession.
DGP Yadav had said preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were in contact with foreign-based handlers through social media, the module was also involved in radicalisation and spreading anti-India and anti-police narratives.
–IANS
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