UP cops claim plot to kill Badal, 3 held

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, October 15

With the arrest of three criminals in the jungles of Shamli district of western Uttar Pradesh early on Monday morning, the Uttar Pradesh police claim to have unearthed a plot to assassinate former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Shamli SP Dinesh Kumar P said the trio was in touch with Khalistan supporters.

Those arrested were identified as Karam Singh of Shamli, Gurjant alias Jinta of Saharanpur and Amreet alias Amrit of Karnal. Their accomplices — German and Karma of Shamli — escaped.

The police recovered two rifles, a pistol, ammunition and the motorcycle used in the October 2 snatching of weapons at Kamalpur check post by these criminals after injuring Home Guards personnel Sansar Singh and Sanjay Verma.

A joint operation of the Shamli police and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team was carried out around 3 am in the jungles of Rangana village under Jhinjhana police station.

Following a tip-off, the police laid a trap and chased the criminals from Chausana Chowki to the gurdwara at Rangana farm, where they were to hand over the arms to German.

The arms were to be shifted to Punjab in a truck, However, the police and the SWAT team cornered them. Two were arrested with the looted weapons, while another was arrested with a pistol from a nearby sugarcane field. Amreet and Gurjant were said to have been injured in the encounter.

During interrogation, the criminals admitted that their leader and mastermind of the October 2 looting of weapons was German, son of Kulwant, a resident of Birsa Ka Dera, Azizpur village, under Jhinjhana police station of Shamli.

They said German had links with Khalistan supporters in Punjab. As per his plan, the police picket was looted and the weapons were hidden in a room of the gurdwara by Karam Singh.