Chandigarh: Punjab police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a Pak-ISI backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module - being operated by foreign-based handlers Maninder Billa and Mannu Agwan on the directions of terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda— with the arrest of its six members involved in attempted grenade attack outside a liquor vend in Batala town of Gurdaspur district.
Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said that the arrested have been identified as Jatin Kumar alias Rohan, Barinder Singh alias Sajan, Abraham alias Rohit, Sunil Kumar, Rahul Masih and Sohit, all residents of Batala. Police teams have also recovered one .30 bore pistol from their possession, he said.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the arrested accused persons were receiving direct instructions from Portugal-based Maninder Billa and BKI mastermind Mannu Agwan, who has recently assumed operational charge after the arrest of Happy Passian in the USA.
He said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the module had been directed by its foreign handlers to lob a grenade at any liquor vend with the intent to spread fear among contractors, thereby creating a conducive environment for extortion demands.
It may be recalled that some unidentified bike-borne youth had lobbed a hand grenade outside a liquor vend in the Focal Point area of Batala on May 17, 2025, which failed to explode due to faulty assembly, preventing any untoward incident.
Sharing operation details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Batala Suhail Qasim Mir said accused Jatin Kumar, who was the main executor of the attack, sustained bullet injuries in an exchange of fire with police while being taken for recovery of weapons.
