NIA to probe arms dropping by Pakistan drones in Punjab

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to hand over the probe related to the recovery of huge arms and ammunition in Punjab, which was believed to be delivered through drones, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

This came following a request from the Punjab government after police cracked a terror module of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) last month.

According to the MHA order, the Central government is of the opinion that scheduled offences under NIA Act have been committed and the incident needs to be enquired by NIA due to the gravity of the offence, which "include conspiracy to carry out terrorist activity to create communal tension, instability, and revival of terrorism in Punjab".

Police had said that drones were used to deliver weapons and communication hardware from Pakistan. Four people were arrested from Tarn Taran district in Punjab on September 22 and a huge cache of arms, including five AK-47 rifles and satellite phones, were seized from them.

Punjab Police had said that drones from Pakistan first dropped weapons in Punjab in August. Two drones that dropped weapons from Pakistan have been recovered.

On August 13, DH earlier reported, a crashed ‘Hexacopter Drone’ was recovered from Mohawa village in Amritsar district, about 1.5 km from the Indo-Pak border. The drone had been manufactured by a Chinese company and it had a payload capacity of 21 kg.