A bomb squad officer inspects an IED in another terror arrest on Thursday (File)
The Punjab Police today recovered an explosive device packed with around 1.5 kg of RDX and arrested two men in a village in Tarn Taran district. The IED, packed in metal box weighing over 2.5 kg, was also equipped with timer, detonator, battery and shrapnel, the police said, adding they averted a possible terrorist attack in the border state with the arrests and the recovery.
The development came three days after four people were arrested with the recovery of three IEDs packed in a metallic case, weighing 2.5 kg each, and one pistol in Karnal by the Haryana Police following the inputs from its Punjab counterpart.
The police said those arrested on Sunday have been identified as Baljinder Singh, a resident of village Gujjarpura in Ajnala, Amritsar, and Jagtar Singh, 40, of village Khanowal of Ajnala, Amritsar. A motorcycle and two mobile phones were also recovered from them, the police said.
Bindu was working as a nursing assistant in a private hospital in Ajnala, while Jagga is a labourer and both were carrying out this activity for money and drugs, the police said in a statement.
Additional Director General of Police (Internal Security) RN Dhoke said Tarn Taran Police had received a information that Bindu and Jagga, carrying explosives, were roaming in Naushehra Pannuan area and were planning to carry out a blast.
Acting promptly, Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ranjit Singh sent police teams to conduct raids in the area and both the accused were arrested with an IED in a metallic box when they were going on a motorcycle after retrieving it from an abandoned place, he said.
The SSP said initial investigation found the accused had gone to retrieve the IED on the instructions of their aide, identified as Jobanjit Singh alias Joban, a resident of Awan Vasau in Ajnala.
Jobanjit is already facing criminal cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The SSP said a bomb disposal team of the Punjab Police later defused the IED, which had nearly 1.5 kg of RDX.