In a major breakthrough, Counter Intelligence (CI) Amritsar busted an illegal arms and explosives smuggling module, arresting three individuals and recovering six hand grenades and 12 sophisticated pistols from their possession, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said here on Wednesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Chintu, Jobanpreet Singh and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, all residents of village Kakkar in Amritsar. The recovered weapons include eight .30-bore pistols and four 9 mm pistols, along with nine live cartridges. The police also impounded the Hyundai i20 car (registration number PB-13-5454) used to transport the consignments.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were operating on the directions of a foreign-based smuggler backed by Pakistan’s ISI and abroad-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operatives. The arrested accused were allegedly planning to carry out activities aimed at disturbing public peace across various cities in the border state, he added.
Sharing operational details, the DGP said police teams from CI Amritsar received reliable intelligence that the suspects – Chintu, Jobanpreet Singh and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi – had recently received a large consignment of explosives, arms and ammunition in the Ajnala area on their handlers’ instructions. They were expected to deliver the consignment to other associates near the underpass on the Bharatmala Bypass Highway on the Amritsar-Chogawan Road.
Acting swiftly on the intelligence, police teams set up a naka in the Amritsar area and intercepted the Hyundai i20 in which the three accused were travelling. During the search, the police recovered six hand grenades and 12 pistols from their possession.
The DGP said the case is being investigated thoroughly from multiple angles to establish both forward and backward linkages and to unearth the entire network behind the smuggling operation.
An FIR has been registered in the case under Section 25 of the Arms Act, Sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the State Special Operation Cell Police Station, Amritsar.