Punjab: Five ISI-linked men, who were planning to bomb police buildings, arrested

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Punjab Police on Wednesday foiled a suspected grenade attack on a police establishment with the arrest of five members of a ISI-backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module. The group is believed to be linked to gangster Jiwan Fauji, who is currently operating from abroad.

The arrests were made by the Amritsar Police Commissionerate. Those held include Naresh Kumar alias Babbu, Abhinav Bhagat alias Abhi, Ajay Kumar alias Ajju, and Sunny Kumar, all residents of Haripura in Amritsar, along with a 17-year-old juvenile. The authorities also seized a hand grenade, a country-made 0.32 pistol, and five live cartridges.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the module was being coordinated by Jiwan Fauji with the help of local operatives. The accused were reportedly radicalised and tasked with carrying out attacks in the border districts. They had been given motorcycles to retrieve weapon consignments from the Ajnala sector in Amritsar.

According to the police, the group was actively planning to target police buildings using grenades. An FIR under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered at Islamabad Police Station in Amritsar.

Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said during a follow-up operation, one of the accused, Ajay Kumar, tried to escape by snatching a police officer’s weapon and opened fire on the team. He was injured in the leg in retaliatory firing and is being treated at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.

The Punjab police is also on a hunt for Germany-based Jiwan Fauji, who is accused of running terror modules carrying out attacks on police establishments in the state.

The army deserter, Swaran Singh, also known as Jiwan Fauji, faces over a dozen FIRs registered against him since May 29, 2023. Police records indicate he was involved in at least seven grenade attacks in Punjab in recent months.

"Fauji is a top-bracket terrorist. He was a regular recruit in the army before he deserted. While Passia was not trained, he is trained due to his stint in the army and hence was counted heavily on investing in terms of training foot soldiers for carrying out the grenade attacks by the forces inimical to the nation," TOI quoted a senior Punjab police officer as saying.