Daijiworld Media Network - Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Jul 10: Punjab Police's Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) has thwarted a major terror conspiracy allegedly plotted by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative Harwinder Singh Rinda, currently based in Pakistan. Acting on intelligence inputs, the AGTF recovered a cache of weapons from a forested area in Gurdaspur before it could be accessed by Rinda's local associates.

The seized arsenal includes two AK-47 rifles, 16 live cartridges, two magazines, and two P-86 hand grenades, according to DGP Gaurav Yadav, who confirmed the operation’s success on Wednesday.

Taking to social media platform X, the DGP said, “Acting swiftly on human intelligence, AGTF teams traced and recovered a large cache of terrorist hardware from a forest area in Gurdaspur, before it could reach Harwinder @ Rinda’s associates.” He added that the recovery was carried out under the overall supervision of ADGP Promod Ban, and investigations are ongoing to identify those tasked with collecting the consignment.

DIG Gurmeet Chauhan of the AGTF stated that the operation has revealed the involvement of foreign-based terrorists and indicated that more recoveries could be expected in the coming days. A case has been registered under the Explosives Act and Arms Act at Purana Shala police station in Gurdaspur.

In a separate operation earlier this week, Punjab Police’s Counter Intelligence Unit in Jalandhar foiled a target killing plan linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, leading to the arrest of Himanshu Sood, a resident of Phagwara in Kapurthala. Sood was allegedly tasked with executing attacks in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

From his possession, police recovered two pistols — a China-made .30 bore PX3 pistol, a .32 bore pistol, two magazines, and seven live rounds. The arrests are seen as part of an intensified crackdown by Punjab Police on terror and gang networks with alleged cross-border links.