Punjab Police have arrested three individuals and foiled a major target killing planned by a terror module linked to the proscribed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). The module was allegedly being handled by US-based gangster Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Nawashehria, who is a close aide of Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda.
While the plan had to be aborted the first time because Lal had arrived late for an election meeting in Hissar, the second attempt was to be made at a rally in Ambala in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also present.
The terror attack on Ghanie Ke Bangar Police Station in Batala, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, was claimed on social media by BKI operatives Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia and Gurpreet alias Gopi, they said.
According to intelligence sources, Singh is believed to be hiding in Pakistan and was a member of the pro-Khalistan terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International.
"The decision to list organisations such as Babbar Khalsa, Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code is intended to protect Canada and Canadians from terrorism," Canadian public safety minister Stockwell Day said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Anmol Bishnoi, brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, after his deportation from the US. He is wanted in connection with several high-profile crimes.
On the run for over 10 years, Sikh militant Jagtar Singh Tara, convicted for life in the then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassination, has been deported by Thailand.
Khalistan Liberation Force chief Harminder Singh 'Mintoo' who along with five others escaped from the high security jail in Nabha on Sunday, was arrested by Punjab Police after he was deported from Thailand in November 2014.
A man suspected of belonging to a terrorist outfit died in an explosion near Majitha Road in Amritsar, police said. The man was retrieving explosive material when the blast happened, possibly due to mishandling. The SSP said the man might be linked to some terror organisation. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory was at the spot to collect samples of the explosive.
Narain Singh Chaura, a former terrorist with a history of violence and involvement in the 2004 Burail jailbreak case, attempted to shoot Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal outside the Golden Temple. The attack, which occurred while Badal was sitting in a wheelchair, was thwarted by quick action from security personnel. Chaura has been arrested and is facing multiple charges, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
A suspected member of the banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International airport, police said on Wednesday.
Babbar Khalsa International's terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara on Thursday pleaded guilty in a Delhi court, along with four others, of their alleged roles in the 2005 twin blasts at Satyam and Liberty cinema halls in Delhi. With Hawara -- the assassin of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh -- and his four accomplices admitting their guilt, Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Siddhartha sentenced them to jail terms already undergone by them.
According to a senior source in the Intelligence Bureau, when a minor blast occurred outside the Delhi high court on May 25, an intelligence input was received that a Sikh militant group may try to do something in New Delhi to bring attention to Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar's mercy please before President Pratibha Patil.
Since the BKI's activities within India have tapered down, the outfit is trying to re-group by looking for sympathisers and donors outside India, says Vicky Nanjappa
A suspected member of the banned Babbar Khalsa International, who was arrested on Monday in New Delhi, had been plotting with the outfit chief to target religious leaders in Punjab, police claimed on Friday.
Investigators have said that the recovery of explosives from a vehicle in Ambala indicates that the Babbar Khalsa International is trying to make a comeback. But the organisation has had a longstanding relationship with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, says B Raman.
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency is making all-out efforts to revive terrorism in Punjab by providing funds to radical groups, state Director General of Police Paramdeep Singh said in Jalandhar on Saturday.
In stark contrast to their technology-savvy counterparts in Pakistan, Khalistani militants in India have decided to take a step backwards and ban the use of mobile phones among their cadres.No use of mobile phones while carrying out operations in India -- that is the clear directive that has been given to two militant outfits -- the Babbar Khalsa International and the Khalistan Zindabad Force.
The recent input by the Intelligence Bureau -- suggesting that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is being targeted by militant Khalistani groups -- indicates that the Inter Services Intelligence is planning to re-launch its covert movement in India.
Acting swiftly, police also moved an application before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Seema Maini in New Delhi for issuance of a Letters Rogatory seeking information about the suspects from Germany, which was granted by the court.
The terror angle in the terror attack on Shringar multiplex was being pursued with DIG(Intelligence) Jagdish Mittal telling reporters the blast could be a result of a collaboration between the "jihadi groups and the Babbar Khalsa International," a Sikh separatist group. No outfit has so far claimed responsibility.
Jagtar Singh Hawara, a Babbar Khalsa International terrorist and his associates Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh, all three accused in the murder for former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, escaped after digging a tunnel in the jail.
Unearthing an important link in the twin cinema hall blasts case, the Delhi police arrested a relative of the head of militant outfit Babbar Khalsa International and an NRI who was planning to whisk him out of the country.
Two close associates of Babbar Khalsa International chief Jagtar Singh Hawara, who were assigned the task of carrying out attacks on politicians and religious leaders, were arrested by the police in Chandigarh on Monday.
Police on Wednesday also said the incident was not connected to a case involving a reputed gang killing in India, The Fresno Bee newspaper reported.
Babbar Khalsa militant Jagtar Singh Tara, convicted for life in the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's assassination, was brought in New Delhi on Friday night by a team of Punjab Police after being extradited from Bangkok.
Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia alias Jora, an alleged terrorist who had illegally entered the US, was arrested by the FBI and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations in Sacramento.
In a notification, the Union home ministry said Brar, backed by a Pakistan-based agency, has been involved in multiple killings and professes radical ideology.
They were identified as Makhan Singh Gill alias Amli and Davinder Singh alias Happy, both residents of Noorpur Jattan village in Hoshiarpur, Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to ask Britain to take strong action against Sikh groups trying to revive the demand for a separate Khalistan and their attempts to radicalise Sikh youth besides giving them training on how to make bombs.
At least nine separatist organisations supporting terror groups have their bases in Canada and despite multiple deportation requests Ottawa has taken no action against those involved in heinous crimes, including the killing of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, officials in New Delhi said on Tuesday.
Radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is on the run following a police crackdown, has been maintaining close links with Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and some terrorist groups based abroad, official sources said on Saturday.
Incidentally, the allegations come at a time when Lawrence Bishnoi is in the news in India for his alleged involvement in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence is trying to revive Sikh militancy in the country, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
The federal agency announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each for Rinda and Landa and Rs 5 lakh each for Parminder Singh Kaira alias "Pattu", Satnam Singh alias "Satbir Singh" alias "Satta" and Yadvinder Singh alias "Yadda".
In an email sent to some journalists and two videos accessed by PTI, Pannun compared Mann with former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in a bomb blast on August 31, 1995.
Despite being lodged in prison, Bishnoi has allegedly managed to execute murders of many high-profile people, including Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala in 2022, Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi in 2023, besides orchestrating firing outside the residences of singers A P Dhillon and Gippy Garewal in Canada, the officer said.
The government has initiated a series of steps to check the spread of the Islamic in India, including the launch of a counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation strategy.
The home ministry said these individuals are operating from Pakistan and other foreign soil and involved in various acts of terrorism.