In a major counter-terrorism breakthrough, the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of Punjab Police has apprehended two associates linked to foreign-based handlers and recovered two hand grenades from their possession in Amritsar, officials said on Tuesday.
Acting on a precise intelligence input, an SSOC Amritsar police team conducted a targeted operation on May 18, leading to the arrest of a youth identified as Ajay, a resident of Bazigar Mohalla in Ajnala, along with his accomplice. A subsequent search of the suspects yielded the recovery of two live hand grenades, triggering a high alert among security and intelligence agencies in the region.
According to preliminary investigations, the arrested individuals maintain operational linkages with the banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav stated that the seized explosives were part of a deeper, sinister conspiracy engineered by overseas handlers aimed at targeting key government institutions and critical infrastructure to disrupt peace, law, and order across Punjab.
A formal case has been registered at the SSOC Amritsar police station under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act.
Senior police officials confirmed that intensive interrogation of the accused is currently underway to trace the exact source of the explosives and uncover the intended targets. The police are also preparing to produce the duo in court to seek their remand for further custodial interrogation, aimed at establishing both forward and backward linkages to effectively dismantle the entire network.