In line with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann›s directive to dismantle organized criminal networks in the state, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of the Punjab Police, in collaboration with Central Agencies, has apprehended a crucial operative associated with the Pakistan-based terrorist Harvinder Singh, also known as Rinda, and the USA-based Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia. The arrest took place in the village of Lohawat, located in the Phalodi district of Rajasthan, as reported by Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, on Friday.
The arrested accused, identified as Kailash Khichan, was wanted in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case registered in Fazilka in September 2023. Apart from this, the accused has a criminal history with a number of criminal cases pertaining to Extortion, NDPS Act and Arms Act registered against him in Punjab and Rajasthan.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that following the name of accused Khichan figuring in various terrorist modules busted by the Punjab Police in recent past, teams of AGTF headed by ADGP Promod Ban under the supervision of AIG Sandeep Goel and led by DSP Bikramjit Singh Brar, managed to track the location of the accused in Rajasthan and arrested him from village Lohawat in district Phalodi of Rajasthan with the help of Central Agencies.
“Police teams have also recovered one .30 calibre Chinese pistol along with eight live cartridges from the possession of the accused Khichan,” he said.
The DGP said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused Khichan, on the directions of terrorist Rinda, was supplying weapons to the associates of terrorist outfit Babbar Khalistan International (BKI) to carry out sensational crimes in the State.
Sharing more details, AIG Sandeep Goel said that further investigations are ongoing to establish backward and forward linkages in this case and more arrests are expected soon.
The accused has been arrested in a case FIR No 16 dated 27/12/23 registered under section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station State Crime in SAS Nagar.