The Punjab Police on Thursday claimed to have averted a major lone wolf attack in the state with the arrest of a well-educated but radicalised Sikh youth, Inderjit Singh.
The Counter Intelligence Wing of the Punjab Police said that Inderjit, alias Rinku, trained in making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) with the help of Pakistan's ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) and was planning to carry out an attack single-handedly in the state.
An Engineering Graduate with an MBA degree, Inderjit Singh, a resident of Faridabad, was nabbed on Wednesday from Mohali, adjoining Chandigarh, and explosive materials were seized from him.
The material included chemicals and advanced electronic remote controls. These were recovered from his Ford Figo Aspire car.
According to a police spokesperson, preliminary interrogation of the suspect has revealed that he was acting at the behest of his ISI handlers, who had tasked him to carry out blasts in Punjab with explosives made from locally available chemicals and devices, procured from online marketing websites.
"The explosive materials recovered from his possession included Digital Remote Control (Multi-functional type), Light Remote Control, and various other materials, including chemicals. The explosive material and the accessories were found concealed in his vehicle, which he had used for travelling from Faridabad to Mohali," the spokesperson said.
"During interrogation, Inderjit, currently working with a JCB Company at Faridabad, revealed that he was contacted by the ISI officers on Facebook about two years ago and since then he had been interacting with them and learning to make explosives with DIY (Do It Yourself) kits."
Investigations indicate that Pakistani Intelligence officers had chosen him because of his posts and profile on social media, and they went on to further radicalise him, he added.
The spokesperson said the Pakistani intelligence officers were also actively coordinating and networking the terror module that was busted by the Counter Intelligence Wing on May 29, 2017.
The mastermind of that terror module, Harbarinder Singh, a resident of Mohali, was also in contact with Inderjit Singh through Facebook.
"After Harbarinder Singh's arrest, Inderjit was operating as a lone wolf and was procuring material from online marketing websites to make an IED. Inderjit was highly radicalised and motivated to carry out terrorist activities," the spokesperson added.
A case has been registered against him under Sections 17, 18, 20 of Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act and 3, 4, 5 of Explosive Substances Act.
"Further investigations are in progress to unravel the entire conspiracy," said the spokesperson.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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