Arrested operatives of ISI-backed terror module planned grenade attacks: Punjab Police

Ludhiana: A day after a major ISI-backed multi-state gangster-terror module was busted in Ludhiana, the Punjab Police on Friday said the two arrested operatives were tasked to carry out grenade attacks in government buildings and other sensitive locations in the border state.

The two operatives Deepak alias Deepu and Ram Lal were injured in an exchange of fire in Ludhiana on Thursday, they said.

The two had opened fire when they were intercepted in Ludhiana following information that they were roaming in the area. Two grenades and five sophisticated pistols were among the items seized from them, a senior officials said on Thursday.

Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma on Friday said Deepak and Ram Lal had travelled from Rajasthan to Ludhiana. They had been staying here for two days to coordinate and execute the planned attack.

"This highlights a new and dangerous trend wherein Pakistan-based handlers are deliberately recruiting and using criminals from other states to commit terror acts in Punjab so that they can operate under the radar and are difficult to identify," he said.

According to the police, the two were tasked by their Pakistan-based handler Jasveer alias Choudhary to carry out grenade attacks in the border state.

The module, having links with Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was planning to use hand grenades to target government buildings and other sensitive locations to create tension in the border state, the CP said.

Ludhiana Commissionerate Police had earlier, in coordination with Counter Intelligence Unit, busted a terror module with the arrest of its three operatives Shamsher Singh from Ferozepur, Ajay from Haryana and Harsh Kumar Ojha from Bihar.

With the arrest of Deepak and Ram Lal, the police teams recovered two Chinese 86P hand grenades, five sophisticated .30 bore pistols, and over 40 live rounds from the possession of the arrested accused.

Elaborating on the inter-state network, Commissioner of Police Sharma said that the first arrest in the case, Shamsher Singh, led the police to Harsh Kumar Ojha, a resident of Bihar.

"During interrogation, it was revealed that Ojha is a grenade-thrower expert and was also assigned by the module to execute terror attacks in Punjab. Recently, Ojha was also involved in a firing incident in Bihar for extortion on directions of the foreign based handler.

"The Ludhiana Police, acting swiftly on Shamsher's disclosure, averted this threat by arresting Ojha from Bihar," he said.

The police later also arrested another operative, Ajay, from Haryana based on Shamsher's disclosures and recovered two pistols from his possession, he said.