Tiffin box bomb recovery: Punjab DGP says pro-Khalistan group’s role under scanner
Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said that the package was delivered allegedly through a drone, adding that pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice's role is under the scanner.
A high alert was sounded across Punjab on Monday after a tiffin box bomb's recovery from Daleke village along the Indo-Pak border.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta told India Today TV that the package was delivered allegedly through a drone, adding that pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice's role is under the scanner.
"People heard drone sounds and a thud during the intervening night of August 7 and 8. After getting inputs, we mounted a search operation during the day and, by the evening, we recovered a packet containing a bomb, five grenades and 100 9mm pistol cartridges. All these things are packed in soft foam packets to facilitate transportation. We suspect the packets were delivered using drones," said Dinkar Gupta.
Schools, crowded places being targeted?
The Punjab DGP said the police recovered a plastic tiffin box which is generally used by the school children.
"This is a double-decker tiffin box in which a full IED was fabricated. A National Security Guard (NSG) team is currently in Amritsar for a preliminary examination. The NSG team has revealed that it is a very sophisticated IED," he added.
Citing the investigation, the police have not yet revealed the name of the terror group behind the recovery.
Fabrication of a battery-operated IED in a lunch box, which can also be bombed using a mobile phone, suggests that the terror groups are either targeting schools or crowded places.
Link between militant groups and gangsters established
Though the investigation is at its initial stage, intelligence inputs have established a clear link between the militant groups and gangsters.
"At some point, these people connect especially when they are in jail and support each other. There have been elements based abroad and you have been trying to put forth this networking between militant groups and organised bands of criminals which are operating in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and elsewhere," said Dinkar Gupta.
Role of Sikhs For Justice being ascertained
The Punjab DGP said that the role of outlawed pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is also being ascertained.
SFJ recently launched an anti-India campaign using recorded phone calls. SFJ General Secretary Gurpatwant Singh Pannu has threatened Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and even his Himachal and Haryana counterparts.
"Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) was declared as an unlawful association by the Government of India, Ministry of Home affairs under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Cases have been registered against its office bearers and Gurpatwant Singh Pannu by National Investigation Agency (NIA). Necessary legal action will be taken by the central and state investigation agencies," Dinkar Gupta told India Today TV.
The Punjab DGP said pro-Khalistan groups were trying to exploit the youth of the state by giving them a huge amount of money.
"They are just trying to exploit the poor and want to push them into crime, which is very unfortunate. We are trying our best to protect the youth of the state. We don't want Punjab to again face the kind of violence which it faced in the 80s and the 90s " the Punjab DGP said.
Anti-drone solutions on the cards
Misuse of drones by smugglers and terror groups has put the agencies on their toes. Despite the joint efforts being put by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Punjab Police, drones frequently enter Indian territory.
Dinkar Gupta said that the state and central agencies were working in tandem to support each other and were trying to develop anti-drone solutions to meet this challenge.
"Drone is a very easy mode for transportation and delivery of weapons. The use of drones has posed a new technological challenge," added Dinkar Gupta.
Last week, security forces recovered a cache of arms and ammunition in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district that was possibly dropped using a drone from across the border.
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