2 held with grenades, pistols in Amritsar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 16

The Punjab Police arrested two suspected militants late last evening, averting a possible terror attack during the 75th Independence Day celebrations here. The two were linked to a UK-based terrorist.

The police confiscated two hand grenades, two pistols along with bullets and magazines from their possession in the Gharinda border belt here. This is the third seizure of hand grenades in the district within a week. Earlier, acting a tip-off, the rural police had recovered a “tiffin bomb” along with RDX and five hand grenades at Daleke border village. The arms were apparently dropped by a drone from across the border.

Another grenade was found in a garbage pile in the Ranjit Avenue area, a day before the state-level Independence Day event here where Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had unfurled the Tricolour. The CM has already warned of increased terror threat to the border state from Pakistan-based anti-national forces.

The two — Amritpal Singh and Sammy of Sultanwind village — were operating on the directions of UK-based terrorist Gurpreet Singh Khalsa.

They had been tasked with retrieving a weapons consignment sent from across the border, said DGP Dinkar Gupta today. “The consignment was most likely delivered in the border area around the Attari-Jhabal road a few days ago,” he said, adding Khalsa was also involved in the Shingar Cinema blast case of Ludhiana.

He said following intelligence inputs after the seizure of a “tiffin bomb”, the police had increased security at the International Border along Pakistan. Checkpoints were also set up and patrolling was intensified.

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