Bishnoi-Kala Rana gang operative arrested with explosives in Karnal

In a major breakthrough, the Special Task Force (STF) Karnal has arrested a key operative of the Lawrence Bishnoi–Kala Rana gang and recovered two live hand grenades and 1.5 kg of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) containing RDX, preventing a major criminal strike in the region.

The accused, Amar Singh, was intercepted on November 25 by the STF based on intelligence inputs. The team, led by STF Inspector Deepender Singh, stopped his SUV on the Karnal-Indri Road and recovered a foreign-made Glock automatic pistol along with five live cartridges.

“A case was registered at Sadar Police Station under Section 111(4) of BNS and 25(6)-54-59 of the Arms Act. He was produced in the court on Wednesday which granted six days’ police remand,” said B Satheesh Balan, Inspector General of Police (IGP) STF.

Explosives hidden near Karna Lake

Accompanied by STF SP Waseem Akram and Karnal SP Ganga Ram Punia, IGP Balan said during interrogation on November 27, Amar Singh confessed that he had recently brought explosives and grenades to Karnal on the instructions of his gang leaders to execute a major strike.

He disclosed that the explosives were hidden in a plastic bag in an isolated patch near Jhijhari village, behind Karna Lake. Acting on his information, the STF team dug up the spot and recovered two live hand grenades and the IED.

FSL and bomb disposal squad teams were called to secure the explosives, the IGP said.

Balan added that Amar Singh had kept the explosives at his home in Meerut for a few days before concealing them in the open area. The gang — whose leaders Kala Rana and his father Joginder Singh are lodged in jail under UAPA and organised crime charges — had planned to trigger unrest in Karnal and nearby districts.

The IGP lauded the operation, saying the swift action of STF personnel “prevented a potentially dangerous incident.”

Long criminal trail

Sharing details of the accused’s criminal past, Balan said Amar Singh is a history-sheeter with 10 cases registered against him across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, including murder, kidnapping, arms smuggling, robbery and gangster activities.

His past offences include the 2017 killing of MLA candidate Shiv Kumar Yadav, his driver and gunman in Noida. He was also accused of the kidnapping and murder of Vivek Rana after joining the Monu Rana gang in May 2018.

On June 20, 2018, he was booked for looting a retired Colonel’s vehicle at a highway dhaba in Yamunanagar district. Additional cases under the IPC, Arms Act and Gangster Act have been registered against him in Noida, Ghaziabad and Ambala, the IGP said.

“Further investigation is going on which may reveal more links and planned attacks,” the IGP added.