Arrest of terrorists blows lid off links

The arrest of eight terrorists, including three members of the Chhota Rajan gang, has revealed links among ISI, Babbar Khalsa International and local gangs operating in the country.

According to DCP Crime Branch A.K. Surolia, the ISI agents who had sheltered Wadhawa Singh and Mehal Singh, the duo responsible for sparking off terrorism in Punjab, were trying to revive the BKI, which had not been in the news since the killing of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Dr. Saroop Singh alias 'doctor', a professor in Punjab, was entrusted with the task of making recruitments and spreading terror in different parts of the country.

Saroop formed a group of about eight persons, four of whom have been arrested. They were trained and sent to various parts of the country. Sarbatjit Singh alias Sabba Sukhvat Singh and Sajan Singh alias Bhagat Singh Jat were sent to Gujarat to garner funds through kidnappings for ransom, murders and pushing counterfeit notes into circulation.

In Gujarat, Sajan and Sabba came in contact with Ibrahim Khan alias Chacha Hasankhan Bhati, who was staying on the border joining Rajasthan, Gujarat and Pakistan.

The two seized the opportunity to rope in Chacha, who, besides being a local was also to 'Anna', a member of the Chhota Rajan gang. The Chhota Rajan gang was looking towards Gujarat, where a vaccum had been created after the killing of Abdul Latif. Chacha introduced Sajan and Sabba to Anna. Sajan was also a link between Saroop and other underworld dons operating in Gujarat.

Sources said the terrorists had been planning a major operation in Gujarat, but the Central Intelligence agencies and Punjab police received a tip off that Saroop was targetting Gujarat because of its porous land and sea borders.

Sources added that the Punjab police immediately alerted the city Crime Branch. Police got their first clue when some illegal activity was detected at a hotel in Shahibaugh and probe revealed that Ibrahim was a frequent visitor. Police then started closely monitoring the activities of Sajan and Sabba.

Later, Punjab police informed the city Crime Branch that several other criminals wanted by the police of other states were also active in the State. The criminals were subsequently tracked down. But the Punjab police did not want the terrorists to be arrested because it would then alert Saroop.

Around the same time, Rajasthan police received information about Journel Singh, another terrorist who had been trained with Sajan and Sabba. Saroop, however, continued to remain at large.

But last week Punjab police achieved a major breakthrough by arresting Saroop. The arrest was not made public. Police in Ahmedabad were then informed about a meeting arranged by the terrorists in the wee hours of January 20 at Narol. This led to the arrests of the five ultras including Ibrahim, Sajan and Sabba. The other two were Lakhvidner Singh alias Lakhkha Harbans Singh Jat and Paramjitsingh Ajmersingh Sandhu, both wanted by the Jammu & Kashmir police. All of them have also been involved in vehicle thefts and highways tools.

On January 21, the Crime Branch arrested Triloksingh alias Pappu Hutheesingh Jat of Amritsar, Rajmahendrasingh alias Rajvindersingh Jat of Jabalpur and Lokeshkumar alias Pappu Pritamprasad Mishra also wanted by the Jammu and Punjab police.

Later, Uttar Pradesh police informed the city Crime Branch about the Chhota Rajan gang and trap was again laid, leading to the arrests of Sandip Narayan Bindra, Dharmesh alias Nanu Nitin Shah and Dharamraj alias Munno Nitin Shah. All three belong to the Chhota Rajan Gang. The link between the Chhota Rajan gang and BKI was established after Crime branch sleuths recovered at Santro car (GJ-01-BK-248) from the three.

The car had been stolen by Ibrahim Chacha and given to Anna. He, in turn, gave the car to Dharmesh and his accomplices, Crime Branch officials said.

Compiled from local news media