Punjab: 2 BKI module members arrested in extortion, firing case

Counter Intelligence Jalandhar arrested two Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) members involved in an extortion and firing case. A pistol and live cartridges were recovered. The accused were acting on instructions from BKI's foreign handlers.

Two BKI Members Arrested for Extortion

In a major development, Counter Intelligence (CI) Jalandhar has arrested two key members of a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) module involved in an extortion and firing case. According to the release, the police recovered a .32 bore pistol, a magazine, and eight live cartridges from the accused. The arrested accused have been identified as Sukhwinder Singh alias Sunny and Rawal, both residents of Kulam village, SBS Nagar.

Providing details of the case, DGP Gaurav Yadav stated that preliminary investigations had revealed that the arrested accused were acting on the instructions of Gopi Navanshaharia, Jassi Kulam, and Sushant Chopra, foreign handlers associated with the BKI. He said that according to the investigation, the accused had fired two shots at the house of a travel agent in the Garhshankar area for extortion.

The DGP stated that, acting on intelligence, teams from the Central Intelligence Agency (CI), Jalandhar, arrested both BKI-affiliated accused along with weapons near the Lidran underbridge in Suransi, Jalandhar, on the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway.

The DGP stated that investigations are ongoing to unravel the module's nexus and identify other members. He stated that more arrests and recoveries are expected in the coming days. In this regard, FIR has been registered against the accused at the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, under sections 111 and 61(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 25 and 25(1-B) (a) of the Arms Act.

Previous BKI Module Busted in January

Earlier, on January 23, Hoshiarpur Police, in a joint operation with Counter Intelligence, Jalandhar, busted a terror module of the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and arrested four of its operatives from the Garhshankar area of the district Police recovered a large cache of arms and explosives from the accused, including 2.5 kilograms of RDX in the form of an improvised explosive device (IED), two pistols, and live cartridges.

Preliminary investigations suggested that the recovered IED was meant for a targeted terror attack in view of the January 26 celebrations. The arrested accused have been identified as Diljot Singh Saini, Harman alias Harry, Ajay alias Mehra, and Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Kandola, all apprehended within the jurisdiction of Garhshankar police station.

According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by DGP Punjab Police, the terror module was being operated by handlers based in the United States and had alleged links to Pakistan's ISI-backed networks. Following the arrests, an FIR has been registered at Garhshankar police station under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Explosive Substances Act. Further investigations are underway to trace the wider network, funding channels, and possible local collaborators. (ANI)

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