3 months after ex-militant’s killing, Pak-based terror module member held in Jalandhar
Member of Babbar Khalsa International module operated by Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda and US-based gangster Gopi Nawanshehria arrested for killing Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan former chief Rattandeep Singh in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on April 3
Three months after Rattandeep Singh, a former chief of militant outfit Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK), was shot dead in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (formerly Nawanshahr) district, the Jalandhar police on Monday arrested key assailant Simranjit Bablu, who is a member of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
“The counter-intelligence team, Jalandhar, has apprehended key assailant Simranjeet Bablu, a member of the BKI, who was involved in the fatal shooting of former terrorist Rattandeep Singh in SBS Nagar on April 3, 2024,” Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav posted on X.
He said the module was operated by Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda and US-based gangster Gopi Nawanshehria.
Police also recovered sophisticated weapons along with a cache of ammunition.
Rattandeep, who hails from Haryana’s Karnal, was killed by unidentified assailants in SBS Nagar’s Balachaur town while he was sitting in his car along with his nephew Gurpreet Singh. Soon after the incident, gangster Gopi Nawanshahria took to social media to claim responsibility for the killing.
DGP Yadav said Simranjit Bablu was arrested after a brief encounter on the outskirts of Jalandhar city. He sustained bullet injuries on the legs as he attempted to escape from police custody.
He said the police team, led by AIG, counter intelligence, Navjot Singh Mahal was taking the accused to the place near Wadala on the Jalandhar-Nakodar road, where he claimed to have hidden the pistol used to murder Rattandeep. “On reaching the location, the accused tried to escape from police custody after pushing a police official.The CI Jalandhar team opened fire to stop him from fleeing,” said the DGP, adding that the accused was taken to the nearest hospital.
Police teams recovered two sophisticated weapons, including a .32 Webley revolver and a .32 pistol, along with a magazine and 19 cartridges from his possession.
Preliminary investigation showed Simranjit was working on the directions of Rinda and Nawanshehria, who tasked him and another assailant, Jaspreet Singh, alias Jassi Kulam, to carry out the targeted killing of former militant Rattandeep Singh to create panic in society. “Kulam managed to flee abroad after committing the crime,” Yadav said.
He said the arrested accused is a hardcore criminal and faces several cases pertaining to murder, attempt to murder and the Arms Act. He was involved in the assassination of an ASI from Amritsar police, he added.
Rattandeep served jail term for violent past
A one-time hardcore militant, Rattandeep was the prime suspect in the bomb blast in the parking area of the old passport office in Sector 34, Chandigarh, on June 30, 1999, in which four people were injured. He owned the scooter used for carrying the bomb.
The BTFK militant was behind the blast on the railway bridge in Panipat the same year and had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) on the Shahbad-Markanda bridge in 1998. He was an accused in the arms recoveries in Jind district in 1996 and 2000.
Though Haryana Police arrested him in August 1999, he managed to escape. He was the kingpin of a group of militants who planted explosives in a vehicle near Circuit House in Amritsar in May 2010. He had smuggled the consignment of weapons and explosives from across the border.
A state special operations cell (SSOC) of Punjab Police finally arrested Rattandeep from the outskirts of Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh on September 17, 2014. He was carrying a Pakistani passport and identity card in the name of Hussain Sheikh Zahid.
An official said Rattandeep was a Pakistan-based militant, who had been living there since 1993. He visited India to carry out terror strikes.
Jailed for his terror links, Rattandeep was released in 2019 after he completed his term. Since then, he had been staying with his family in Karnal as no case was pending against him.