Four operatives of terror module held: Punjab Police

Preliminary investigations revealed that Happy Passia had a deal with Vikramjit for Rs 15 lakh to carry out a target killing.

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police on Tuesday said they have averted the possible killings of some prominent people with the arrest of four men linked to Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda. Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said the four accused were backed by Rinda and operated by US-based gangster Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia.

Police recovered one .32 bore pistol along with 10 live cartridges from the possession of Vikramjit Singh alias Raja Bains from Batala and Amritsar residents Bawa Singh, Gurkirpal Singh alias Gagan Randhawa and Amanat Gill, he added.

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Following intelligence inputs about Rinda and Happy Passia hiring two shooters and planning to target some prominent persons in the state, police teams of the state special operation cell of SAS Nagar launched an operation and nabbed Vikramjit and Bawa, he said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Happy Passia had a deal with Vikramjit for Rs 15 lakh to carry out a target killing. Vikramjit had also conducted the recce of the target in the last week of September, the DGP said.

Yadav said the follow-up investigations suggested that Happy Passia arranged a pistol and live rounds for Vikramjit through his local associates Gurkirpal, Hari Singh alias Harry and Amanat.

“Following the disclosures of arrested accused, police teams also nabbed Gurkirpal and Amanat, while Hari Singh managed to flee abroad,” he added.

An FIR has been registered under the relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.

A few days ago, police in a joint operation with the central agencies thwarted a possible terrorist attack in the border state by busting a terror module backed by militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) with the arrest of two operatives.