Drone dropping of arms in Punjab: 6 terrorists linked to Khalistan Zindabad Force get life term

New Delhi: A special NIA court in Mohali has sentenced six terrorists linked to proscribed Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) to life imprisonment for smuggling explosives and arms through drones in Punjab for launching a terror attack in 2019.

Besides the KZF, the convicts are also linked to designated individual terrorists -- Germany-based Gurmeet Singh alias Bagga and Pakistan-based Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta, officials said Tuesday.

Three other persons have been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court, they said.

"While Akashdeep Singh, Balwant Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Balbir Singh, Maan Singh and Gurudev Singh have been sentenced to life imprisonment, accused Shubhdeep Singh, Sajanpreet Singh and Romandeep Singh have been sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for their roles in the case," an NIA spokesperson said in a statement.

The court has also imposed fine on all convicts, the statement said.

The spokesperson said the court found the accused guilty under various sections of Indian Penal Code, anti-terror Act UAPA, Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act in the case, linked with the proscribed terrorist organisation KZF.

The NIA had taken over the investigation from Amritsar police in October 2019.

The anti-terror probe agency found that the convicts were involved in collecting, transporting and smuggling huge caches of arms, ammunition, explosives, communication devices and fake Indian currencies into India via drones by Germany-based terrorist Bagga and Pakistan-based terrorist Neeta.

"The explosives, arms, etc were drone-dropped at specified locations in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district at various intervals during the months of August and September, 2019," the statement said.