In a major blow to Pakistan’s ISI-backed terror network, Punjab Police’s Counter Intelligence unit in Jalandhar, along with SBS Nagar Police, has busted a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) module. The joint operation led to the arrest of five operatives, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.
He added that the network was being run by foreign-based handlers Mannu Agwan, Gopi Nawashehria, and Zeeshan Akhtar, on the directions of Pakistan-based BKI operative Harwinder Rinda. The five suspects were arrested from Tonk and Jaipur districts in Rajasthan, preventing further planned attacks.
According to the police, the group had recently planned an attack at a liquor store in Punjab’s SBS Nagar and had been assigned more such strikes on Independence Day. The accused were receiving direct instructions from Zeeshan Akhtar and BKI mastermind Mannu Agwan, who works closely with Rinda in Pakistan.
DGP Yadav said one person was injured in an exchange of fire during a recovery operation. “He opened fire on the police and sustained injuries in retaliatory action, and is admitted to the Civil Hospital of SBS Nagar,” the DGP said in a statement on X.
An FIR has been registered at the Nawanshahr police station in SBS Nagar under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Explosive Substances Act. The police recovered one 86P hand grenade, one .30 bore pistol, two live cartridges, and two empty shells of .30 bore from the suspects.
To ensure peaceful Independence Day celebrations, DGP Yadav on Monday briefed the force about the current security situation. He reviewed counter-terror strategies and issued directives on inter-district coordination, setting up high-visibility checkpoints, and maintaining round-the-clock surveillance to prevent any law-and-order issues in the border state.
The DGP also toured several districts, chairing law-and-order review meetings and outreach sessions with officers from Commissionerates, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana, and Police Ranges, border, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Ropar.
He also reviewed the state’s anti-drugs campaign Yudh Nashian Virudh and the ongoing action against gangsters and organised crime. An official statement quoting the DGP said he directed officers to carry out financial probes against hawala operators to dismantle the entire funding network behind drug trafficking.
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