ISI-backed module planning I-Day attack busted by Punjab Police, four held

Chandigarh, August 14

Thwarting a possible terrorist attack in Punjab and Delhi on the Independence Day, the Punjab Police on Sunday claimed to have busted an ISI-backed terrorist module, with the arrest of four members. The suspects have been remanded in police custody for five days by a Mohali court.

The accused were associated with Canada-based gangster Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Dala, and Australia-based gangster Gurjant Singh, alias Janta. They were apprehended from Delhi during an operation carried out by the Counter-Intelligence Unit of the Punjab Police with the help of the Delhi Police.

Three hand-grenades (P-86), one improvised explosive device (IED) and two 9-mm pistols, along with 40 live cartridges, have been seized from the arrested persons, said state Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.

Those arrested are Deepak Sharma of Preet Nagar in Moga, Sandeep Singh of Kotkaror Kalan village in Ferozepur, Sunny Dagar of Ishapur village in Najafgarh in Delhi and Vipin Jakhar of Goyla Khurd in New Delhi, where all of them had taken shelter.

The DGP said following reliable inputs that associates of Arsh Dala were being harboured by Vipin at his accommodation in Goyla Khurd, teams of Punjab Police and Dwarka police conducted a raid on his premises on Friday. They arrested the accused with two 9-mm pistols (foreign-made), along with 40 live cartridges.

“The police teams also recovered one IED and three hand grenades on Saturday from the locations revealed by the accused in Punjab,” he said. The DGP said the accused also revealed that they were being tasked by Arsh to execute criminal activities in Delhi and Punjab ahead of the Independence Day.

Investigations reveal Deepak Sharma is a history-sheeter and wanted by the Punjab Police in two cases. These include the murder of Moga-based Jaswinder Singh in March and firing on the house of the panchayat secretary of Dala village in Moga in June, said the DGP. Meanwhile, accused Sandeep, who recently came back to India from Dubai, had provided logistic support to Deepak for carrying out the firing.

He said accused Sunny Dagar, who is out of jail on parole, is an active member of the Neeraj Bawana gang and the Tillu Tajpuriya gang active in Delhi and the NCR region and faces various cases of heinous crimes like murder, attempt to murder, extortion, theft, etc. Dagar was providing hideouts to Deepak and Sandeep in Delhi and nearby areas, while accused Vipin was providing financial and logistic support to the other arrested accused.

He was also involved in facilitating the movement of the accused from one hideout to the other, he added.

IED, grenades seized

• The terror-module was operated by Canada-based gangster Arsh Dala and Australia-based gangster Gurjant Singh
• Suspects were arrested from Delhi with IED, three hand-grenades, arms and ammunition

Process on to extradite gangster Arsh Dala

• Canada-based Arsh Dala, a native of Dala village in Moga, is a notorious gangster involved in various criminal activities in Punjab and abroad. He is among the “most wanted” by the Punjab Police
• His involvement had also emerged in various targeted killings that took place in Punjab, besides in cases of supplying militant hardware, including RDX, IEDs, AK-47 and other arms and ammunition, to modules in the state after getting them imported from Pakistan
• The DGP said the Punjab Police had initiated the process to extradite him from Canada and soon he would be brought to India. Notably, a Red Corner Notice against Arsh Dala was issued in May