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.
Tarsem said BKI has prepared more 'human bombs' and few of them have already been assigned their jobs to hit their targets, according to senior police officials.
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.
Satnam Singh had been prepared by the militant group to be used as a human bomb.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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 IB, which had sounded the warning bell around two years back regarding the revival Sikh militancy, also adds that the ISI had chosen five outfits from Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, to train the activists from the Babbar Khalsa.
Its order also includes a direction for the channel to broadcast a statement of Ofcom's findings on a date and in a form to be determined by the watchdog and also for KTV not to repeat the music video or the discussion programme found in breach of its rules.
Key witness in the Air India trial Inderjit Singh Reyat's daughter was married to former leader of Babbar Khalsa who faced terrorism charges in the case.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A loud sound was heard at around 1 am outside Kalia's residence near Shastri Market in Jalandhar, police said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
A suspected member of the banned terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International airport, police said on Wednesday.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking death penalty for Babbar Khalsa terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, the mastermind in the sensational killing of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995, saying the offence falls under the category of 'rarest of rare' cases.
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.
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.
A Babbar Khalsa terrorist, who was undergoing sentence in an attempt to murder case, escaped from police custody in Punjab while being taken to a court from Delhi's Tihar jail, police sources said on Tuesday.
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.
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.
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.
Talking exclusively to rediff.com, Rajoana's sister Kamaljit Kaur said: "He stands for Khalistan and we support him. We will stand with him through thick and thin. My brother is in high spirits and he is ready for any eventuality."
The recent haul of explosives at Ambala has kept investigating agencies on their toes ever since. Now, the probe agencies are not even ruling out the possibility of the Delhi high court blast being remotely linked to the seizure of 5 kgs of RDX from a car at Ambala earlier this month.