Major terror attack foiled in Punjab: Two held with IED packed with RDX

Tarn Taran (Punjab): Police in Punjab have foiled a plot for a major terrorist activity by recovering an explosive device packed with around 1.5 kg of RDX and arrested two men from Naushahra Pannuan village in Tarn Taran district.

This RDX was hidden in a ruined building. The IED, packed in metallic black colour box and having a gross weight of over 2.5 kg, was also equipped with timer, detonator, battery and shrapnel, police said, adding they averted a possible terrorist attack in the border state with the arrests and the recovery.

The development came three days after four people were arrested with the recovery of three IEDs packed in a metallic case (weighing 2.5 kg each) and one pistol in Karnal by the Haryana Police following the inputs from its Punjab counterpart. The police said those arrested on Sunday have been identified as Baljinder Singh alias Bindu (22), a resident of village Gujjarpura in Ajnala, Amritsar; and Jagtar Singh alias Jagga (40) of village Khanowal of Ajnala, Amritsar.

A motorcycle and two mobile phones were also recovered from their possession, police said. Bindu was working as a nursing assistant in a private hospital in Ajnala, while Jagga is a labourer and both were carrying out this activity for money and drugs, the police said in a statement. Additional Director General of Police (Internal Security) R N Dhoke said the Tarn Taran Police had received a secret information that Bindu and Jagga carrying explosives were roaming in Naushehra Pannuan area and were planning to carry out a blast to spread terror among the people there.

Acting promptly, Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ranjit Singh sent police teams to conduct raids in the area and both the accused were arrested with an IED in a metallic box when they were going on a motorcycle after retrieving it from the abandoned place, he said. The SSP said initial investigation reveals that the accused had gone to retrieve the IED on the instructions of their accomplice identified as Jobanjit Singh alias Joban, a resident of Awan Vasau in Ajnala.

Jobanjit is already facing criminal cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and has been declared a Proclaimed Offender (PO), he said. The SSP said a bomb disposal team of the Punjab Police later defused the IED, which had nearly 1.5 kg of RDX. A case under relevant sections of the Arms Act, the Explosive Substance (Amendment) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sarhali police station has been registered. The case is being linked to the terrorists arrested from Karnal.