Police nabs BKI ''human bomb'' targetting religious leaders

Ludhiana, Dec 28 (UNI) The Punjab Police today arrested a suicide bomber of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist group, who was allegedly planning to eliminate prominent religious heads including Dera Sacha Sauda chief Baba Ram Rahim Gurmeet Singh.

The others on the hit list were Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawale, Noormahal-based Divya Jyoti Jagaran Sansthan chief Baba Ashutosh apart from some top civil and police personnel leading the anti-militant operations in the state, Inspector General of Police (Jalandhar Zone) Sanjiv Kalra said here today.

Addressing mediapersons after the police here arrested BKI member Bhawanjit Singh, a resident of Kamalpura, and recovered three kg RDX from his possession, the IG said during interrogation, Bhawanjit Singh had revealed that a radical Sikh Gurpreet Singh whom he met through a common friend had 'brainwashed'' him with militant ideology and trained him in arms and handling of explosives at Garhi Mansowal in Hoshiarpur district.

He was told that 18-20 kg RDX had been smuggled into the country through shepherds through the Rajasthan border. They were planning to assassinate their targets by placing explosives in the vehicles parked along with the routes of these people. The blasts would have been triggered by mobile phones, he claimed.

They had also planned to prepare a bomb to be fitted underneath the vehicles of VIPs by the means of magnets.

He disclosed that another associate of Bhupinder Singh used to arrange hideouts for them and they used to frequently meet at Khanna, Fatehgarh Sahib and gurudwara at Anandpur Sahib.

It was during these meetings, Gurpreet Singh convinced him to become a ''human bomb'' and allured him with promise of proper financial assistance to his family if ''he sacrificed his life''.

During interrogation, Bhawanjit also alleged that they used to stay in Golden Temple in Amritsar where Dilbag Singh and Sarabjit Singh, employees of SGPC used to arrange rooms for them.

Bhawanjit disclosed that one Palwinder Singh of Kamalpura was a close associate of the gang and was also being convinced to become a human bomb. He had helped Gurpreet Singh escape after some RDX was recovered by police at Dakha.

Two of his associates, Bhupinder Singh of Nawanshehar and Dilbag Singh of Majitha have already been arrested under section 121, 121-A, 122, 123, 153, 153-A, 120-B IPC 3/4/5 Explosive Act and a revolver and a pistol along with eight cartridges were recovered from them.

Further investigations were in progress and some more sensational clues were expected, the IG told reporters.

UNI