Captain puts Punjab on high alert after arrest of 4 members of terror module
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has sounded a high alert in the state following the arrest of four more members of an ISI-backed terror module involved in a bid to blow up an oil tanker with an IED tiffin bomb last month.
This is the fourth case of a Pakistani terror module being busted in Punjab in the past 40 days. Two Pakistan-based terrorists, including a Pakistani intelligence officer, had also been identified and nominated in the case (FIR No. 260 dated 11.8.2021, Ajnala), in which one person was arrested earlier, DGP Dinkar Gupta said on Wednesday.
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Taking serious note of increased attempts by terror groups to disturb the state’s peace, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has directed the police to be on high alert, particularly in view of schools and educational institutions reopening, as well as the festival season and the Assembly elections nearing.
The Punjab Chief Minister has asked the DGP to ensure high-level security arrangements at busy places such as markets etc as well as at sensitive installations across the state.
Giving the details, the DGP identified Pak-based ISYF chief Lakhbir Singh, Qasim and Lakhbir Singh Rode as being behind the terror module.
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Those arrested on September 14 have been identified as Rubal Singh, Vicky Bhutti, Malkeet Singh and Gurpreet Singh. While Rubal was picked up from Ambala around 5 pm on September 14, the other three were nabbed from their villages in Ajnala, Amritsar. Their fifth accomplice, Gurmukh Brar, was arrested earlier by the Kapurthala police on August 20.
The DGP said the Pakistani intelligence officer, identified as Qasim, and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) chief Rode had promised to transfer over Rs 2 lakh to the terrorist module for carrying out the blast. Investigations into the financial aspects are also being carried out to unravel the money trail, he added.
Rubal and Vicky Bhutti were in touch with Qasim, who was working in close collaboration with Rode. Rode and Qasim had reportedly tasked the four members of a terrorist module to blast an oil tanker for causing maximum damage to people and property.
The terror attempt was made on August 8, when the Ajnala police received information that an oil tanker (PB-02 CR 5926) parked at Sharma Filling Station Ajnala, located on the Amritsar-Ajnala Road near village Bhakha Tara Singh, had caught fire. The fire was controlled by a fire brigade and an FIR was registered.
The analysis of the CCTV footage at the filling station showed that four unknown persons had come near the fuel station at about 11 pm and had stayed there for a few minutes, before going towards Amritsar side. The suspects returned at 11:19 pm and placed some suspicious material on the fuel tank of the tanker before fleeing. Then, at about 11.29 pm, two of the suspects returned, and within a minute, there was an explosion and the fire.
-PTC News
