Third accused in cross-border terror module arms seizure held in Amritsar

The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, has arrested a third accused in connection with the seizure of two hand grenades and a foreign-made Glock pistol from an ISI-backed terror module busted by the Punjab Police on Sunday.

The arrested individual has been identified as Amandeep Singh, a resident of Indira Colony, Amritsar. With this arrest, the police have so far nabbed three persons — Sarabjit Singh of Ammishah village in Tarn Taran district and Bikramjit Singh of Nangal Pannuwan village in Amritsar district.

According to the police, the two hand grenades bore markings of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, clearly indicating they were smuggled from across the border.

Director General of Punjab Police Gaurav Yadav said the terror module was being operated at the behest of the Pakistan Intelligence Operatives (PIOs) and was linked to Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Shehzad Bhatti, who is acting as a key proxy for the ISI.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the module was systematically planning to target police establishments across multiple states — a major threat that has now been successfully averted. Further probe is underway to identify, track and apprehend other members of the module, Yadav added.

AIG, SSOC Amritsar, Sukhminder Singh Mann said that in an intelligence-led operation, teams of SSOC arrested Sarabjit and Bikramjit and seized the hand grenades and pistol from their possession.

He said the key operative and primary contact of the PIOs and Bhatti in the group, Bikramjit, was operating from Deesa in Gujarat. The information was immediately shared with the ATS Gujarat, and with their active cooperation, a team of SSOC Amritsar arrested him.

Mann said investigations revealed that all accused were in regular touch with Pakistan-based handlers, including Bhatti, through social media platforms and encrypted applications. Acting on directions from their ISI-linked handlers, the group was also planning to carry out grenade attacks on various police establishments in Punjab and other states, he added.

Bhatti was among others named in the case by the SSOC.