Punjab police on Wednesday claimed to have busted another terror module solving solve two cases wherein a Dera Sacha Sauda follower and a controversial religious preacher in Rajasthan were killed in 2016.
The State police, acting on the directives of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, has launched investigations into old unsolved cases and cracked down on suspected terrorists and criminals who had been having a free run in the past.
In the latest crackdown, two members of an inter-State militant module were arrested on Tuesday in separate but coordinated intelligence-led operations conducted by district police forces of Nawanshahr, Ferozepur and Kapurthala, said an official spokesperson.
While Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi was nabbed from Kohala village (in Ferozepur), 25-year-old Avtar Singh alias Pamma, also a resident of Kohala, was apprehended from Bhanolanga village (Kapurthala).
Spokesperson said investigations revealed their involvement in the killing of Gurdev Singh (31 years) of Dera Sacha Sauda in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village (in Faridkot district) on June 13 last year.
They were also involved in the killing of Baba lakha Singh alias lakhwinder Singh alias Pakhandi Baba in Hanumangarh district (Rajasthan) on November 23, 2016. Police recovered from the arrested militants a 12 bore Rifle and .32 bore revolver.
Another suspect in these killings, identified as Ashok Kumar Vohra alias Amna Seth (26 years) of Kohala, managed to escape under the cover of darkness.
Preliminary investigations revealed that various other targets were also on the radar of this module and suspects had also carried out a recce of some of these targets, which they planned to attack in order to drive a communal wedge in Punjab.
In a follow-up action on Wednesday morning, the Ferozepur police seized the white coloured Swift car (registration number CH01 BG 4114), which was used in the killing of Gurdev Singh and Baba lakha Singh, from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala.
The vehicle is registered in the name of Amna Seth, a close associate of Gopi. The police have also seized Maruti Swift, belonging to Gopi, which was being used by him for his criminal activities.
Amna was found to have acquired two new licensed weapons on arms licenses issued to them in 2016. Police are investigating the how and on whose recommendation the licenses were awarded.
Further investigations have revealed that another associate of the duo, identified as Jaswant Singh Kala resident of Sonewala village (PS Sadar, Sri Muktsar Sahib), was also a key member of the terror module responsible for the killings and a manhunt had been launched for him, along with Ashok.
Two separate FIRs have been registered against the members of the militant module in the districts of Ferozepur and Kapurthala under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Arms Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
It may be recalled that Baba lakha Singh was a controversial self-styled godman, who had declared himself to be an embodiment of Guru Nanak Dev.
Originally from Abohar, he had fled to Rajasthan after word had spread about his blasphemous assertions and proclamations, and there had been widespread protests by the Sikh community.