RPG seizure signals rising terror threat in Punjab

After a five-time increase in smuggling of firearms from Pakistan, including three AK-47 rifles, the seizure of a rocket-propelled grenade launcher (RPGs), has sent alarm bells ringing.

Officials with state and Central security agencies said the increase in seizures, especially of the AK-47s and the RPG, signal some fresh plans to cause trouble in Punjab. “Alert BSF troops besides the counter-intelligence unit of the Punjab Police have thwarted these plans so far,” said a senior police official.

“These weapons are not random finds — they reflect a sustained attempt to arm radical and criminal elements to destabilise the region,” he said adding, “In several incidents last year, grenades were hurled at targets but they missed the aim. This was where the possession of an RPG can prove dangerous as it can be used to shoot grenades with precision and from a distance.”

On the night of May 9, 2022, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in Mohali, marking the first attack of its kind in the state. It challenged the police by targeting the intelligence unit head office.

Later, on December 11, 2022, another RPG, suspected to have been smuggled from across the border, struck the Sarhali police station in Tarn Taran, In April this year, the Kila Lal Singh police station in Batala came under RPG attack, again highlighting the growing use of such heavy weaponry in terrorist activities. In April this year, the Jalandhar unit of Punjab Police’s counter-intelligence wing had seized two grenades and a launcher.

In the latest seizure of a 7-kg RPG, which appends a long list of seizure of contraband including weapons and narcotics, the Amritsar rural police nabbed two persons suspected of cross-border smuggling with an RPG launcher two days ago, which they believe had been dropped by a drone from Pakistan.

According to senior officials, these consignments are often pushed across the border using drones or via concealed land routes, intended for use by sleeper cells controlled by handlers based in Pakistan.

BSF officers said that over the past year or so, there has been a spurt in the number of drone incursions and attempts to smuggle in weapons and ammunition. BSF spokesman, DIG AK Vidyarthi, said that since the change of guard in the Pakistani Army and the ISI, the influx of arms and explosives has increased substantially.

Till October 23, the BSF has recovered 215 drones, 325 kg of narcotics including heroin and ICE, 180 weapons, mostly pistols, 12 grenades and 10 kg of high explosives in Punjab alone, besides neutralising three cross-border intruders and apprehending 210 Indian nationals and 16 Pakistani nationals suspected of smuggling. These figures, BSF officials said, are in addition to seizures and arrests made in the state by the Punjab Police, which earlier this month, seized two AK-47 assault rifles.

What is RPG

• RPG, rocket-propelled grenade launcher, is a lightweight, man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon system employed by the infantry against armoured vehicles, bunkers and buildings.
• The grenade, carrying high explosives, is unguided and has an effective range of about 500 metres. Of Soviet origin, it is widely used across the world by militaries as well as terrorist organisations.
• Defence experts say that the weapon is simple, cheap and widely available, costing anywhere between USD 500 to 2,000.