Five terrorists, including two from Punjab and three from Kahsmir, have been arrested from east Delhi, police said on Monday. The arrests exposed a nexus between Pakistan’s ISI and ‘Khalistan radicals’, the police claimed.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said the accused have been identified as Gurjit Singh and Sukhdeep Singh alias Bhura, sharpshooters of wanted gangster Sukhmeet Pal Singh alias Sukh Bhikhariwal who allegedly contracted the killing of Shaurya Chakra recipient Balwinder Singh Sandhu. The three natives of Kashmir have been identified as Shabir Ahmad Gojree, Mohammed Ayub Pathan, and Riyaz Rather, who allegedly have links with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
Police said the five were arrested after an exchange of fire in Shakarpur area. Three sophisticated pistols, heroin worth ₹8 crore, ₹1 lakh and two cars were recovered from them.
Targeted killings
According to police, they had information that the ISI was planning targeted killings of right-wing leaders and had activated a “Kashmir-Khalistan” desk. Pro-Khalistan radicals were using gangsters to execute killings to revive militancy and this was noticed in 2016-17 when eight right-wing leaders were murdered in Punjab.
“It was revealed that the ISI, along with Pakistan-based Khalistan radicals Harmeet Singh alias PhD [chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force] and Lakhbir Singh alias Rode [chief of the Khalistan Zindabad Force based in Pakistan], in furtherance of their conspiracy to revive militancy in Punjab, have been using gangster Sukh Bhikhariwal for target killings”, Mr. Kushwah observed.
Bhikhariwal, who had set up his base in a Gulf country, had executed the killing of Balwinder in October through his henchmen. The ISI was funding these killings through drug trafficking. “They are pushing drugs through the Hizb cadres based in Kashmir and supplying the same to their Khalistani counterparts in Punjab,” Mr. Kushwah noted.
Rawalpindi operative
Police said Pathan was following instructions from cousin Abdul Majeed Khan, who is based in Rawalpindi and one of the senior operatives of the Hizb. Abdul introduced him to Pakistan-based operative code named “Sadakat”, another senior operative of the Hizb, based in Rawalpindi.
Mr. Kushwah said, “Sadakat is said to be handling channelling of funds through narco-terrorism. Sadakat tasked them to receive a consignment of narcotics, which was infiltrated into India through Pakistan and deliver the same to his other contacts in Punjab for which the three had come to Delhi”.
They were also tasked to collect money earned through the sale of drugs and disburse the same to different persons involved in terrorism. On instructions from Sadakat, Pathan, along with associates Shabir Ahmad Gojree and Riyaz Rather, came to Delhi for giving ₹1 lakh to Punjab-based gangsters and that they were also carrying 2 kg of heroin, which was to be given to some other associate for money, Mr. Kushwah added.