Four terror suspects were arrested by the Karnal police on Thursday for allegedly being in possession of explosives, an illegal firearm, and cartridges. All four are residents of Punjab, the police said.
Three improvised explosive devices (IED) weighing 2.5 kg each, a country-made pistol, 31 cartridges, six mobile phones and ₹1.30 lakh in cash have allegedly been seized.
The police, in a press statement, said the four were supplied the weapons and explosives by gangster-turned-terrorist Harinder Singh Rinda, who is based in Pakistan, through drone. The explosives were to be taken to a location about which directions were to be given to the accused through an online application. Harinder was to be informed after the weapons and explosives were taken at the designated location.
Harinder, a notorious gangster, earlier active in Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra and Haryana has criminal antecedents. He is wanted by the Punjab Police in heinous crimes including murder, robbery, extortion and snatching.
A First Information Report has been registered at Madhuban Police Station in connection with the arrests under different sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and Explosives Act.
The four were arrested near Bastara Toll Plaza around 4 a.m. following a tip-off by Punjab Police and a central agencies. The Sports Utility Vehicle they were travelling in was also seized. Three of the accused -- Gurpreet, Amandeep and Parvinder -- belong to Ferozepur, and their fourth accomplice, Bhupinder, is a resident of Jalandhar.
Director General of Police, Punjab, V.K. Bhawra said that central agencies had shared an input with the Punjab Police about the suspects carrying explosive material and weapons and moving in the border districts of Fazilka and Ferozepur. Acting on the input, Punjab police along with teams from the central agencies launched a manhunt for the suspects on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday and identified their locations in Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot and SAS Nagar. The suspects then headed towards Ludhiana.
“The suspects further took the National Highway and started moving towards Ambala, when acting promptly, Punjab Police shared the development with Haryana Police, which had managed to intercept the vehicle in Karnal and arrest the accused persons with the IEDs,” he said.
