The Delhi Police’s Special Cell has arrested four men accused of conspiring to carry out a terror attack in the national capital at the behest of a Pakistan-based handler. The men, which the officials said were acting on the orders of the operatives across the border and were assigned to carry out terror-related activities in Delhi.
So far four accused have been identified as Shubdeep Singh (23), Gurjant Singh (22), Sajan Singh (28) and Gaganpreet (24). Three of the accused are from Punjab and another arrested in Delhi.
According to the police, two foreign-made pistols, nine live cartridges and five mobile phones were recovered during the operation.
The arrests were made following intelligence inputs on the group’s alleged activities. Based on the information, teams from the Special Cell led by Inspectors Satish Rana and Ashok under the supervision of ACP Vivek Kumar Tyagi conducted simultaneous raids at different locations in Punjab and Delhi.
The police said the first breakthrough was in Amritsar, where Shubdeep Singh was caught. Police officers found a foreign-made pistol, live ammunition and various mobile phones in his possession, they said. After his interview, investigators arrested Gurjant Singh and Sajan Singh from various places in Punjab.
The fourth accused, Gaganpreet, was also arrested in Delhi.
The accused had maintained contact with a Pakistan-based handler named Shahzad Bhatti, who used foreign mobile phone numbers to help him avoid surveillance by Indian security agencies, the investigators said.
Police also alleged that the group received consignments of weapons and narcotic substances through drones sent across the India-Pakistan international border. These consignments were then collected and distributed by members of the group, investigators said.
Gaganpreet also conducted reconnaissance of police stations, religious places and other sensitive places in Delhi, the official said. As part of this alleged conspiracy, he was tasked with carrying out firing in the capital.
Shubdeep Singh, also known as Vishal, is a resident of Punjab’s Tarn Taran district near the India-Pakistan border. He had been arrested in a drug-related case and is believed to have been involved in receiving drone consignments with weapons and narcotics, police said.
Investigators have also said Gurjant Singh alias Rishi is also from Tarn Taran and his cousin Sajan Singh, aka Honey, from Amritsar. Both men were previously booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and are believed to have taken part in the drone-driven shipments.
Police also claimed that Gaganpreet, a resident of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, had maintained communication with Pakistani handlers through social media and was instructed to video record police establishments and other strategic locations in Delhi to help future planning.
A case has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act. The investigation is on to determine the full extent of the alleged conspiracy, the number of other associates and identify the group’s cross-border network,” officials said today.
Police said that the allegations were based on the investigation conducted so far. The accused have been arrested, and the claims about their alleged links to Pakistan-based handlers and the purported terror plot will be further investigated and judicial scrutiny in the course of the legal proceedings.
