Punjab police nab Babbar Khalsa terrorist wanted in Ludhiana blast

Chandigarh, Apr 25: The Punjab Police on Sunday nabbed a Babbar Khalsa terrorist, who has been evading arrest for the past 12 years and wanted in the Ludhiana's Shingar cinema bomb blast and other cases.

Charanjit Singh, alias Patialavi, was arrested from Mohali's Dera Bassi by the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of the Punjab Police.

He was an active member of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist module busted by police in 2010 for involvement in the 2007 Ludhiana blast, which had left six dead and over 40 injured.

The terror module was also allegedly involved in 2010 blasts in Ambala and at Kali Mata Mandir in Patiala. All other associates of Patialavi were arrested in 2010 by the Punjab Police, AGTF Deputy Inspector General Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said in a statement on Sunday.

Patialavi has been evading arrest for the past 12 years by using different identities and hideouts, said police. "Patialavi, disguising himself as a 'granthi' was presently staying in a gurudwara at Kharagpur in West Bengal and was not using any communication device," said Bhullar.

Different identification cards on West Bengal address have been recovered from his possession, Bhullar said.

Bhullar said Patialavi, a resident of Butta Singh Wala village in Patiala, was declared a proclaimed offender in a case registered under the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act at the Machhiwara police station.

He said AGTF teams led by Assistant Inspector General Gurmeet Singh Chauhan and Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikramjit Singh Brar arrested Patialavi from near a gurudwara at Lali village in Dera Bassi.

(PTI)