Amidst the ongoing drive against terrorism launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) Amritsar have busted a terrorist recruitment, funding and aiding module with the arrest of Pak-based terrorist Lakhbir Rode’s close associate identified as Paramjit Singh alias Punjab Singh alias Dhadi from Sri Guru Ram Das Airport in Amritsar, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.
Paramjit Singh, a British Citizen and a founder member of International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), was initially involved in terror activities in Punjab in early 90s and was later arrested in 2003 and was convicted in cases pertaining to terrorist activities. After completion of his sentence, the accused returned to the UK but continued his activities in ISYF by working as a motivator, recruiter and fund raiser for the organisation in the UK and other European countries.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that in 2021, accused Paramjit Dhadi’s name was figured for his involvement in reorganising of ISYF cadre in Punjab by arranging and providing funds and militant hardware to target specific persons for disrupting peace and harmony in the state. Following Dhadi’s involvement in terror funding and other subversive activities in Punjab, an LOC was got issued to ensure his arrest, he said.
Terming it as yet another major blow to the terror module attempting to disturb peace in the region, the DGP said that investigation is on to unearth and expose the whole terrorist network. Sharing more details, AIG SSOC Amritsar Sukhminder Singh Mann said that accused Paramjit Dhadi was detained by immigration authorities at Sri Guru Ram Das Airport, Amritsar on Monday, while he was going to board a plane to UK on a British Passport in the name of Punjab Singh.
Subsequently, the accused was arrested in a case FIR No. 18 dated 02.09.2021 registered under sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 18-B and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosives Act, section 25 of the Arms Act, sections 21, 25, 27-A and 29 of the NDPS Act and sections 120, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) registered at Police Station SSOC Amritsar.
He said that during preliminary investigations, it came to light that Dhadi was regularly in touch with Lakhbir Singh Rode. The accused was a frequent visitor to Pakistan and on the instructions of Rode, he used to identify and handpick youth using social media platforms to motivate them to be part of terrorist activities, the AIG said.