Punjab Police arrest 5 operatives of foreign-based Khalistan Liberation Force

Punjab Police have arrested five operatives of foreign-based KLF and foiled a conspiracy of Pakistan's ISI to disrupt the peace and harmony of the border state

Chandigarh: In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police have arrested five operatives of foreign-based Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and foiled a conspiracy of Pakistan’s ISI to disrupt the peace and harmony of the border state ahead of the Independence Day, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Saturday.

Following inputs that some terrorist elements based in abroad have organised 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, the State Special Operating Cell (SSOC) of Mohali had registered a case and started a special operation.

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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 Yadav.

He said investigations have revealed that the links of this new module have been established with the same foreign-based handler that had targeted Rajeev Mahajan in Batala on June 24 and they were controlling this separate module through these operatives to carry out different target killings in the state.

He said that the investigations have also revealed that operatives of the 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 that then using fake narratives over 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 Punjab Police under the leadership of Chief Minister 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.

AIG (SSOC) Ashwani Kapur said it was discovered that foreign-based handlers of the KLF had provided a list of target persons and module members had already conducted recce of some of targets.