Amritsar, 04 August (H.S.): Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted two ISI-backed cross border terror modules with the arrest of nine individuals, including four juveniles, and recovered three illegal pistols along with nine live cartridges and four petrol bottle bombs, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Vansh Kumar (19) and Anmol Singh alias Sahil (20), both residents of Patti in Tarn Taran; Harman Singh alias Hammu (24) and Sukhdev Singh (30), both residents of village Jhanjoti in Amritsar; R/o Patti, Tarn Taran; Sukhman Singh (19), a resident of village Joth in Amritsar and four juveniles. Apart from recovering pistols and petrol bottle bombs, police teams have also impounded one stolen motorcycle, which they were using to carry out criminal activities.

The DGP said that the probe has also uncovered the installation of surveillance cameras near railway tracks, with footage allegedly being shared with foreign handlers. Further investigation is underway to identify the remaining members of the ISI-backed network, establish its forward and backward linkages, trace the financial trail, and uncover any involvement in other terror-related activities, he added.

Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on reliable intelligence, police teams intercepted Vansh Kumar along with his juvenile associate and recovered one illegal .32 bore country-made pistol along with three live cartridges from their possession. Acting on the disclosure statements of the arrested accused, Police teams also arrested Anmol Singh alias Sahil, who had allegedly supplied the recovered weapon to the accused, he said.

The CP said that further investigation has revealed that the financial transactions relating to the installation of surveillance cameras near railway tracks were made through Paytm by inmate Sukhdev Singh at the instance of inmate Harman Singh alias Hammu both lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar were brought on production warrant and formally arrested in the present case. Further, the main accused Anmol, along with his associates and the CCTV cameras installed along the railway tracks, have been formally entrusted to the Government Railway Police (GRP) for further investigation and necessary legal action, he added.

Pertinently, accused Sukhdev Singh and Harman Singh alias Hammu are also involved in an Arms Act case registered at Police Station Rajasansi, in which four Glock pistols were recovered from their possession.

In another operation, CP Gurpreet Bhullar said that acting on specific intelligence, police teams conducted a targeted operation and apprehended two juveniles after recovering one .32 bore country-made pistol, two petrol bottle bombs and one lighter from their possession.

During sustained interrogation, the arrested accused disclosed that they, along with two of their associates Sukhman Singh and one Juvenile had made several attempts to execute the conspiracy, he said, while adding that both associates have also been arrested, and two petrol bombs and one .30 bore pistol were recovered from their possession.

In this regard, three separate cases at Police Station Mohkampura; Police Station Airport; and Police Station C-Division have been registered.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH