Chandigarh: Punjab Police apprehended two wanted operatives linked to the banned Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) at the Delhi airport following their deportation from Malaysia, a top official said on Friday.
The deportation of the two accused, Gurwinder Singh of Ambala and Manjeet Singh of Patiala, was secured by Punjab Police with the cooperation of central agencies and Royal Malaysia Police. They were brought to Delhi on Wednesday.
Gurwinder and Manjeet were key Malaysia-based nodes of a KZF-backed terror module involved in targeting critical railway infrastructure, including the Dedicated Freight Corridor lines in Punjab, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said in a post on X.
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The accused were apprehended by Punjab Police at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, upon their arrival and brought to Punjab for further investigation, he said.
Earlier, Punjab Police had successfully busted the terror module responsible for the January 23 IED blast on the Railway Freight Corridor line near Sirhind, Fatehgarh Sahib, and an attempted explosion on the same corridor near Shambhu, Patiala, on April 27.
During the investigation, four accused were arrested and significant militant hardware was recovered, including an RPG launcher, an IED, RDX, hand grenades and high-end pistols with ammunition, the DGP said.
"Subsequent investigations into the transnational conspiracy uncovered the involvement of KZF handlers and financial facilitators operating from Malaysia.
"The deported accused were found to be instrumental in channelling terror funds through offshore accounts to KZF operatives in Punjab, facilitating plans to execute terrorist attacks and disturb peace and public order in the state," Yadav said.
"Both accused were produced before the competent court in Patiala on June 18 and have been remanded to police custody for further interrogation. Investigations are ongoing to unravel the broader network and identify all individuals involved in the conspiracy," the officer said.
