Two radicals backed by Khalistani handlers arrested in Punjab

Police arrested two radicalised men, backed by an Australia-based Khalistani outfit, in Kotkapura on Thursday and recovered two .30 bore pistols and 40 live cartridges from their possession.

The accused have been identified as Sandeep Singh, 26, a resident of Bangi Nihal Singh village in Bathinda district, and Amar Singh, 48, who hails from Sirsa district in Haryana.

Police said the accused were supplied weapons by their Khalistani handlers, with whom they were in touch through social media and encrypted calls.

Faridkot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nanak Singh said, “We received a call at police control room on Thursday that a motorcycle had collided with a Mahindra Scorpio on the national highway between Faridkot and Kotkapura. When the police party from Kotkapura reached the spot, the two accused who were riding the bike tried to escape. However, the police managed to nab them and brought them to the city police station, Kotkapura.”

He said during the interrogation, the accused disclosed that they were in touch with Gurjant Singh, based in Australia, who has been indulging in a “radicalisation” drive over the Facebook. Gurjant also runs an organisation called International Sikh Federation.

“The members of the terror module that was busted by Punjab police on May 29, 2017, had come together to form a sub-group called Khalistan Zindabad. This outfit is linked to the website of Gurjant’s International Sikh Federation,” said superintendent of police (headquarters) Deepak Pareek.

Pareek said Gurjant was also involved in financing the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terror module that carried out eight incidents of target attacks/killings in Punjab between January 2016 and October 2017.

Police sources said Sandeep and Amar came in contact with each other through a common friend. Later, they were chosen by their handlers from their Facebook profiles.

The sources said some singers in Punjab could be on the target of the duo and they might have links with a “controversial dera” in the region.