Questions are being raised about the efficiency of the local police after a man was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) from Roorkee on the weekend for allegedly supplying weapons to the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF). The person arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS was reportedly living in Roorkee for about a year but the local police were apparently unaware of his activities.
The UP ATS and Punjab police with the help of Roorkee police arrested Ashish Mallik on the weekend for allegedly supplying arms to a prominent member of the KLF. Mallik was reportedly living in Roorkee for the past one year. Having changed his identity, he was living in the home of a relative. He was reportedly supplying arms according to the demand, to Gugni Grewal, said to be the right hand man of top KLF leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, who was recently murdered in Pakistan, where he was based.
After Mallik’s arrest from his aunt’s house, he revealed during interrogation that earlier he was arrested for supplying illegal liquor in Punjab. Later, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for selling poppy husk. He came out on bail in 2014 but during his time in jail, he came in touch with Gugni Grewal, after which both of them became close friends. Meanwhile, following Mallik’s arrest, the local intelligence unit and Roorkee police have started investigating to ascertain his activities and contacts in this area.