The ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann got a major breakthrough after Punjab Police arrested five operatives of foreign-based Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), and foiled a conspiracy of Pak-ISI to disrupt the peace and harmony of the border state ahead of the Independence Day, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.
Following inputs that some terrorist elements based in abroad have organized a terror module by recruiting foot-soldiers through criminals lodged in jails and have been hatching a conspiracy to target minority leaders, police officials, and other prominent persons to disturb the peace and harmony of the state, the State Special Operating Cell (SSOC) of the SAS Nagar had immediately registered a case and started a special operation.
“Around two-week long operation, which involved meticulous intelligence gathering, technical analysis, and swift action led to the apprehension of five operatives of this terrorist module involved in the nefarious plot,” said DGP Gaurav Yadav.
He said investigations have revealed that the links of this new module have been established with the same foreign-based handler— which had targeted Rajeev Mahajan in Batala on June 24, 2023, and they were controlling this separate module through these operatives to carry out different target killings in the state.
Investigations have also revealed that operatives of KLF by using the name of Ranjodh Singh, which is a fake name, have been doing talent spotting in India and recruiting foot-soldiers through people based in jail, he said, while adding that then they use fake narratives using social media to influence impressionable youth and transfer money into their bank accounts to motivate them to carry out target killings in Punjab.
The DGP reiterated that the Punjab Police under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Mann is fully committed to maintaining peace and communal harmony in the state and the nefarious designs of anti-national elements will not be allowed to succeed.
Sharing more details about the operation, AIG SSOC SAS Nagar Ashwani Kapur said that it was discovered that foreign-based handlers of KLF had provided a list of target persons and module members had already conducted recce of some of targets. Further investigations are on, he added.
A case had already been registered under sections 153, 153-A and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), sections 25(7) and 25 of the Arms Act and sections 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at Police Station SSOC SAS Nagar.