Chandigarh, Nov 11 (IANS) Punjab Police’s Special Operation Cell in Amritsar in a joint operation with Counter Intelligence (CI) of Pathankot arrested two more individuals associated with a gangster-terror module operating across multiple districts, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.

The police recovered one sophisticated 9MM Glock pistol along with three magazines and five cartridges from their possession.

Those arrested have been identified as Harpreet Singh, a resident of Baupur Afgana in Gurdaspur, and Navpreet Singh, a resident of Machhiwal village in Amritsar.

DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed the accused were working at the behest of their UK-based handler, who had arranged the weapon and had tasked them to conduct recce of specific targets in Gurdaspur, Batala and Amritsar areas.

The arrested accused were planning targeted killings to create panic and communal disturbance in the state, he said.

The DGP said that earlier two members of the same module were arrested and a hand-grenade and pistol were recovered from them. The fresh arrests have been made during the probe of the same case, he added.

Sharing operational details, Assistant Inspector General Sukhminder Singh Mann said that building on the leads obtained from the previous operation, the Special Operation Cell of Amritsar and CI of Pathankot undertook a meticulous probe to uncover the extent of the network’s activities, which led to the identification and arrest of two more individuals connected with the same module.

The Assistant Inspector General said that further investigation is underway to expose and dismantle the entire network, including its backward and forward linkages.

More arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days. In this regard, a case had been registered under Section 25 of the Arms Act, Section 61 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosives Act in Amritsar.

–IANS

vg/rad