The Punjab police on Sunday said they have arrested two key operatives of the proscribed outfit Babbar Khalsa International having direct links to Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda and US-based gangster Happy Passian.
The accused, Jagdish Singh alias Jagga and Shubhdeep Singh Aulakh alias Shubh, were instructed to carry out targeted killings in Punjab as part of a larger coordinated terror operation, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.
Jagdish is a key shooter involved in a murder case in Maharashtra two weeks ago, police said.
While Jagga is from Harike Pattan in Tarn Taran, his accomplice Shubhdeep is a resident of village Joneke in Tarn Taran, Yadav said.
According to police officials, both the accused were arrested from Mohali.
"In an intelligence-based operation, State Special Operation Cell (#SSOC), Mohali has apprehended two key operatives of BKI directly linked to #Pak-based BKI terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda & #USA-based Happy Passian, a major blow to cross-border terror networks," Yadav said in a post on X.
He said as per their initial disclosure, the arrested accused committed a murder and severely injured another in Nanded, Maharashtra, on February 10, 2025, following Rinda's directions.
"They were also instructed to carry out targeted killings in #Punjab as part of a larger coordinated terror operation," the DGP said.
According to a Punjab Police statement, in the Nanded incident which occurred near a gurdwara outside a Sikh colony, the accused had targeted Gurmeet Singh, a local resident out on parole.
"Gurmeet, previously accused in the 2016 murder of Rinda's brother, sustained injuries but survived. However, his accomplice, Ravindra Rathod, succumbed to injuries after the attack. After carrying out the attack, accused Jagga returned to Punjab, where Shubhdeep facilitated his hideout and provided financial support," the statement said.
DGP Yadav, as per the statement, said that Jagga confessed to have committed a murder in Nanded following Harwinder Rinda's directions.
Both the arrested persons were also instructed by their foreign-based handlers to carry out targeted killings in Punjab as part of a larger coordinated terror operation, he added.
The DGP said that further investigations are underway to establish backward and forward linkages in this case and expose the full network.
Meanwhile, Additional IG, SSOC, Mohali, Simrat Kaur said that an SSOC team arrested Shubhdeep on Friday from Sunny Enclave, Kharar in Mohali and recovered one .32 bore pistol along with two cartridges from his possession.
During interrogation, Shubhdeep revealed his role in providing hideouts and logistical support to Jagga before, during, and after the Nanded murder, she said.
Acting on these leads, the SSOC team swiftly arrested Jagga from Phase 1 in Mohali. Police teams have recovered one .32 bore pistol along with three live cartridges from his possession, Kaur said.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act at SSOC police station, Mohali, police said.
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