ISI-backed module arrests in Amritsar

Punjab Police said on August 5 that Amritsar Commissionerate officers had dismantled two alleged ISI-backed cross-border terror modules and arrested nine people, including four juveniles. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said officers recovered three illegal pistols, four petrol bottle bombs and nine live cartridges from the accused. Police said one module had been tasked with carrying out an attack at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar during a recent student protest, while the second was linked to weapons recovery in the Rajasansi area. Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said investigators were examining the role of a Pakistan-based handler, hawala funding and local support contacts in Delhi. ### Which arrests are police linking to the Jantar Mantar plot? Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the first module was traced after arrests in the Rajasansi area and was allegedly being run on the instructions of a Pakistan-based operative linked by police to the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Bhullar said most of the people in the petrol-bomb case were juveniles. (freepressjournal.in) Nine people were arrested across the two modules, according to Punjab Police, and four of them were juveniles. Police said the suspects had been recruited for terror-related activity and that one group was specifically assigned to target the protest site in Delhi. ### What do police say happened in Delhi? Eight members of the group travelled to Jantar Mantar during the protest and sought local logistical support there, Bhullar said, according to multiple Indian media reports citing the police briefing. (news18.com) He said the group obtained material used to make petrol bombs but did not carry out an attack because security at the site was tight. (freepressjournal.in) India Today reported that the police disclosure came after a 36-day student protest at Jantar Mantar over the NEET examination issue. The report said the demonstration had ended shortly after the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. ### What was recovered in Amritsar? Gaurav Yadav said police seized three illegal pistols, four petrol bottle bombs and nine live cartridges during the operation. (news.abplive.com) The recoveries were announced by the Punjab police chief as part of what he called a “big breakthrough” by the Amritsar Commissionerate. The second module was described by police as a cross-border weapons network. (indiatoday.in) Reports citing the police said that module was uncovered separately from the Jantar Mantar plot and formed part of the same August 5 announcement. ### Who do police say was directing the modules? Bhullar said investigators believe the accused were acting on instructions from a Pakistan-based ISI handler. (freepressjournal.in) He also said money was being routed to members of the modules through hawala and other channels, according to India Today and other outlets citing the police briefing. News18 reported that Bhullar said the group received instructions and support from the Pakistan-based handler but failed to execute any attack. (ndtv.com) Punjab Police has not, in the reports reviewed, publicly identified the alleged handler by name. ### Why are juveniles a focus of the case? Bhullar said it was a matter of concern that juveniles were allegedly being drawn into anti-national activity. (indiatoday.in) His remarks, as carried by India Today and other outlets, centered on the age profile of the accused in the petrol-bomb module. The allegation remains at the investigation stage, and the police statements reviewed do not show any court finding on the charges. (news18.com) The reports also do not indicate that an attack was carried out at Jantar Mantar. ### What happens next in the investigation? Amritsar Commissionerate officers said the investigation is continuing into the modules’ cross-border links, local contacts in Delhi and funding channels. (indiatoday.in) Police statements carried on August 5 said further questioning and follow-up were under way after the arrests and seizures. (news.abplive.com) (ndtv.com)