Chandigarh, Oct 25: Punjab Police has arrested an operative of a terror network and recovered arms and ammunition, including two IEDs packed with high-grade RDX, from his possession, a top officer said on Saturday.
The accused, Manpreet Singh alias Tiddi, a resident of Kotla Tarkhana village in Amritsar, was working on the directions of his handlers based abroad, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.
Singh has a criminal record and was previously involved in two cases registered at Sadar Batala and Kalanaur police stations, the officer said.
After spending around one and a half years in Gurdaspur and Amritsar jails, Singh was released in February. Subsequently, he resumed his criminal activities.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Singh was working on the directions of his handlers based in Armenia, the UK and Germany. His handlers were, in turn, receiving instructions from a Pakistan-based mastermind of a banned terrorist organisation, Yadav said.
Further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case to dismantle the entire network, he added.
Giving details of the operation, Assistant Inspector General, State Special Operation Cell, Amritsar, Sukhminder Singh Mann, said acting swiftly on a specific intelligence input, police arrested the accused and recovered a .30 bore pistol along with ammunition from his possession.
Based on his disclosure, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) packed in metal containers with high-grade RDX and equipped with timers for detonation were also recovered from his village, Mann said.
During the probe, it was found that around two weeks back, the Pakistan-based handler facilitated a drone-dropping of the seized consignment in Ajnala, which was retrieved by Singh and concealed near a canal close to his village.
The accused was instructed by his handlers to remain on standby and await further orders to hand over the IEDs to another contact for intended use, the officer said. (Agencies)
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