The five radicalised youths, who were arrested by the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of the Punjab Police on Sunday for allegedly trying to revive terrorism in Punjab, were to go to Jammu and Kashmir and later cross over to Pakistan for weapon training, officials probing the matter said.

The accused — Gurpreet Singh (29) of Sector 20, Chandigarh, Harvinder Singh (24) of Sector 12, Panchkula, Sultan Singh (29) of Kurukshetra in Haryana, Karamjeet Singh (28) of Moga and Lovepreet Singh (22) of Sangrur in Punjab — are in four-day police remand.

They were arrested from Phase 6, Mohali, where they had allegedly gathered to hold a meeting. Assistant inspector general (AIG) of police (SSOC) Varinder Paul Singh had on Sunday said a militant module targeted at youngsters to motivate them to kill Hindu leaders and Dera Sacha Sauda members involved in sacrilege incidents in Punjab was being created. He said the 45 members of managing committee of Dera Sacha Suada were on their hit list.

‘Handlers sitting abroad were arranging training’

The investigators said UK-based Khalistani militant Paramjit Singh Pamma is funding weapon training of the youths.

Pamma, one of the organisers of pro-Khalistan campaign ‘Referendum 2020’, was actively involved in radicalising the youths through social media platforms, they said.

Pamma is the alleged mastermind of the 2009 killing of Rulda Singh, head of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, a wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The accused were also in touch with militants like Jagtar Singh Hawara (of Babbar Khalsa), who is lodged in jail, Ranjit Singh Pakhoke, a Germany-based active member of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).

First Published: Apr 02, 2019 13:52 IST