— PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION REVEALS THAT ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE ACTING ON THE DIRECTIONS OF PAK-BASED HANDLER: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— BOTH WERE ACTIVE IN THE AMRITSAR RURAL SECTOR, ASSISTING IN MOVEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF SMUGGLED ARMS: CP ASR GURPREET BHULLAR
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, December 1:
Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has dismantled a Pakistan-linked cross-border arms smuggling module with the arrest of its two operatives and recovered seven sophisticated pistols— three PX5 and four .30 bore pistols— from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.
Those arrested have been identified as Balwinder Singh (32), a resident of village Bhindi Nain in Amritsar and Jugraj Singh alias Jagga (29), a resident of village Mulla Behram in Amritsar. The latter has a criminal background with cases pertaining to murder, Arms act and NDPS act registered against him.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were acting on the directions of Pak-based handler, who communicated with them through WhatsApp, assigning pickup points and delivery routes for illegal arms circulation.
The DGP said that further investigation is ongoing to establish forward and backward linkages this case.
Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on an intelligence inputs, a police team, during naka bandi at the Cantonment area, intercepted suspect Balwinder Singh and five illegal pistols from his possession. Based on Balwinder disclosure, police conducted a raid and arrested his associate Jugraj Singh alias Jagga and recovered two .30 bore pistols from his possession, he said.
The CP said that initial probe has revealed that both accused lived in close proximity to the international border, which made it convenient for them to support the cross-border smuggling chain. Investigation has further established that Balwinder Singh and Jugraj alias Jagga were active in the Amritsar Rural sector, assisting in movement and distribution of smuggled arms, he said.
In this regard, a case FIR No. 247 dated 22-11-2025 has been registered under sections 25 and 25 (6, 7 and 8) of the Arms Act at Police Station Cantonment in Amritsar Commissionerate.
