Chandigarh/SAS Nagar, November 26
In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) in a joint operation with SAS Nagar Police has foiled a major terror plot with the arrest of four operatives of foreign-based gangster Goldy Dhillon of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang after an exchange of fire near Steel Strips Towers on the Dera Bassi-Ambala highway this afternoon, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.
Those arrested have been identified as Harvinder Singh alias Bhola alias Honey and Lakhwinder Singh, both residents of Dhakansu Kalan in Rajpura, Patiala and Mohammad Samir and Rohit Sharma, both residents of Rajpura, Patiala. Police teams have also recovered seven .32 calibre pistols along with 70 live cartridges from their possession.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary probe has revealed that the arrested persons were acting on the instructions of their foreign-based handler and were planning targeted attacks in the Tricity and Patiala region. Further investigation is ongoing to establish forward and backward linkages in this case, he said.
Providing operational details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) AGTF, Promod Ban, said that specific intelligence inputs were received indicating the presence of the operatives in a house located along the Dera Bassi-Ambala highway. Acting swiftly, joint police teams of AGTF and SAS Nagar Police, led by DSP Bikramjit Singh Brar, cordoned off the area.
During the operation, when the teams attempted to apprehend the accused, the suspects opened fire at the police party, with bullets striking the bulletproof jackets of Head Constable Gagandeep Singh and Constable Gulab Singh, said the ADGP, while adding that in retaliatory fire, suspects Harvinder Singh alias Bhola and Mohammad Samir sustained bullet injuries and were subsequently overpowered, along with the remaining two accused.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SAS Nagar Harmandeep Hans, who visited the spot, said that all the four arrested individuals have criminal histories. Further probe is ongoing to identify other operatives of this module, he said, while adding that more arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days.
In this regard, a case FIR number 345 has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act at Police Station Dera Bassi.
