UP ATS arrests arms supplier to Khalistani terrorists

UP ATS team arrest Javed, an alleged arms supplier to pro-Khalistani outfits and members in Punjab. ATS officials said a number of pro-Khalistan terrorists have been caught in western UP and the Punjab Police was searching Javed for quite some time.

Lucknow:The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad on Sunday arrested an alleged arms supplier to Khalistani terrorists. According to reports, the accused Javed is a resident of the Kithore area of Meerut and is involved in a case related to death of RSS office-bearer in Punjab.

"He was arrested following an input from the state special cell, Amritsar, Additional Director General of the ATS," Dhruva Kant Thakur said.

In a statement issued here, the UP ATS said, "Javed had supplied illegal weapon to Dharminder Singh, a resident of Ludhiana, who was involved in the murder of a senior RSS office-bearer of Punjab, Brig (retd) Jagdish Kumar Gagneja. The NIA is probing the case. Ashish, an accomplice of Javed, was arrested earlier."

Dharminder Singh is a member of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and currently lodged in the Tihar Jail.

In November 2019, Javed on the instructions of Dharminder Singh, had given three pistols to his aide, the ATS said in the statement.

Read:Four anti-CAA protesters booked under NSA

ATS officials said a number of pro-Khalistan terrorists have been caught in western UP and the Punjab Police was searching Javed for quite some time.

In May, in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh ATS and the Special Operation Group of the Punjab Police, Tirath Singh, a suspected terrorist owing allegiance to the Khalistan movement was arrested from Thapar Nagar in Meerut. He was handed over to the Punjab Police after interrogation.

In February 2020, the UP ATS arrested Ashish, a key arms supplier of Khalistan Liberation Force, from Haridwar.

In November 2019, the ATS arrested a man and his accomplice from the state's Shamli district for their alleged involvement in supplying arms and ammunition to pro-Khalistan terror groups.

(With inputs from PTI)