2 members of terror module arrested, two pistols seized

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 10

The police claimed to have arrested two members of the Khalistan Zindabad, a sub-group of a terror module, here on Thursday evening.

After seizing two pistols and 40 cartridges from Sandeep Singh of Bathinda and Amar Singh of Sirsa, the police claimed that the questioning of the accused revealed that they were in touch with the foreign-based Khalistani handlers on social media and using encrypted VoIP calls.

They were provided the weapons to carry out targeted killings assigned to them by their handlers, said Dr Nanak Singh, SSP.

The accused were in touch with Australia-based Gurjant Singh, who is using Facebook to propagate radical activities. The SSP claimed that Gurjant Singh started “International Sikh Federation”, a radical website some time ago. The members of the terror module, busted by the state police on May 29 last year, had come together to form a sub-group called Khalistan Zindabad and this group was linked to the radical website.

Gurjant Singh was involved in financing some terrorist module that carried out eight incidents of target attacks and killings in Punjab between January 2016 and October 2017. The link of Sandeep Singh and Amar Singh with other possible module members and Khalistani operatives was being investigated, said the SSP.

A case under Sections 17, 18, 19, 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the duo.

Sandeep is a resident of Bangi Nihal village in Bathinda, while Amar belongs to Chattha village of Sirsa district in Haryana.

The police stumbled upon these accused following a collusion between a motorcycle and a Mahindra Scorpio on the Faridkot-Kotkapura road on Thursday. When a police team reached the spot and questioned motorcycle riders, two pistols were recovered from them.