Punjab Police say they have foiled a major terror conspiracy in Amritsar after arresting a 24 year old man found carrying a hand grenade, a 9mm Glock pistol and four live cartridges. Initial questioning has revealed that the accused was in regular contact with handlers linked to Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, and had been instructed to target police stations along with crowded public places. Officers say the timely action likely prevented a major incident in the city.
Tip off leads to a special operation
Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the police had received solid intelligence about the accused well in advance. Acting on that input, a special operation was launched, and the suspect was tracked down and arrested before he could act on the instructions he had received. Teams reportedly kept watch on the accused's movements for some time before closing in at the right moment, to make sure there was no room for error.
Who is the accused
The arrested man has been identified as Sumit Kumar alias Pandit, 24, a resident of village Sukhsal in Rupnagar district. He had been living in the Pandori Vadaich area of Amritsar at the time of his arrest. During the search, police recovered a hand grenade, a 9mm Glock pistol and four live cartridges from his possession, along with the motorcycle he was allegedly using to carry out the planned attack.
Instagram was the bridge to handlers across the border
Investigators found that the accused had first come into contact with ISI handlers sitting across the border through the social media platform Instagram. Instructions and operational details were being relayed to him through the same platform. Police said he had been assigned the task of disturbing law and order in Punjab, and had specifically been told to strike police installations as well as crowded public spaces such as markets. The case illustrates how handlers based across the border are using social media to lure and direct local youth.
DGP Gaurav Yadav says the wider network is being traced
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said the timely action had helped thwart a large scale terror plot. He added that the investigation had now been intensified to trace the entire network behind the conspiracy. Police are trying to determine who else may be involved in the plot, and are also working to establish exactly how weapons and instructions were being routed to the accused from across the border.
A second grenade recovered after interrogation
Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that during interrogation, the accused shared several important details with investigators. Based on those disclosures, police recovered another hand grenade. Officers said this second recovery has strengthened evidence of the accused's links to the network and handlers operating across the border. The investigation also revealed that Sumit Kumar had run into trouble with the law before, with a case already registered against him under the NDPS Act. Police are now examining his older contacts and other associates to establish who else may have been part of the conspiracy.
Case registered under arms and explosives laws
A case has been registered against the accused at Amritsar's Cantt police station under various sections of the Arms Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Explosives Act. Police said more arrests linked to this network could follow in the coming days as the investigation progresses.
