— ARRESTED ACCUSED WAS WORKING ON DIRECTIONS OF HIS HANDLERS BASED IN ARMENIA, UK AND GERMANY LINKED WITH PAK-BASED MASTERMIND: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— PROBE REVEALS PAK-BASED HANDLER FACILITATED A DRONE-DROPPING OF THE SEIZED CONSIGNMENT IN AJNALA SECTOR: AIG SSOC ASR SUKHMINDER MANN
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, October 25:
In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) Amritsar has apprehended an operative of a terror network and recovered two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), weighing around 2.5 kg each, packed with high-grade RDX and equipped with timers for detonation, and one sophisticated .30 bore pistol along with ammunition from his possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Manpreet Singh alias Tiddi, a resident of village Kotla Tarkhana in Amritsar. The arrested accused has a criminal history, being previously involved in two criminal cases registered in police stations Sadar Batala and Kalanaur. After spending around one and a half years in Gurdaspur and Amritsar jails, he was released in February 2025 and subsequently resumed his criminal activities.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused was working on the directions of his handlers based in Armenia, United Kingdom (UK) and Germany, who are further receiving instructions from a Pakistan-based mastermind of a banned terrorist organisation. Further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case to dismantle the entire network, he said.
Sharing operational details, AIG SSOC Amritsar Sukhminder Singh Mann said that acting swiftly on a specific intelligence input, the team of SSOC Amritsar arrested suspect Manpreet Singh alias Tiddi and recovered a pistol of 30 bore along with ammunition from his possession. Following his disclosure, two IEDs, packed in metal containers with high-grade RDX and equipped with timers for detonation, are also recovered from the area of village Kotla Tarkhana, he said.
The AIG said that probe further indicated that around two weeks back, the Pak-based handler facilitated a drone-dropping of the seized consignment in Ajnala Sector, which was retrieved by the arrested person and further concealed by him near a canal close to his village Kotla Tarkhana. His handlers had instructed him to remain on standby and await further orders to hand over the IEDs to another contact for intended use, he added.
In this regard, a case FIR No. 63 dated 25.10.2025 has been registered under sections 25 of the Arms Act, sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, and sections 111 and 61(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station SSOC Amritsar.
