3 Khalistani terrorists gunned down in Pilibhit encounter

In a joint operation, the Punjab Police and Uttar Pradesh Police neutralised three suspected Khalistani terrorists, allegedly involved in Gurdaspur grenade attack, in Pilibhit on Monday, Punjab's director general of police Gaurav Yadav informed through a post on X.

The three operatives - Varinder Singh, alias Ravi, Gurwinder Singh and Jashanpreet Singh, alias Partap Singh - were residents of Kalanaur in Punjab's Gurdaspur district and were accused of attacking the Bakshiwala police station there.

Amitabh Yash, additional director general (law and order), Uttar Pradesh Police, said the trio was involved in the grenade attack in Gurdaspur. "The three sustained serious injuries in the encounter and were immediately rushed to CHC Puranpur for treatment. The three suspects later succumbed to their injuries," he said.


Two AK-47 rifles, two Glock pistols and a huge cache of ammunition were seized from them, he said.

Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and Babbar Khalsa International have been involved in seven attacks on security personnel in Punjab over the past one month, said officials.

KZF's module is controlled by Ranjit Singh Neeta and operated by Jaswinder Singh Mannu, who is based in Greece, according to Yadav. The group is further controlled by Jagjeet Singh, who is based in the UK and is serving in the British Army. Jagjeet uses the identity of Fateh Singh Baggi, Yadav noted.

KZF is banned by the Union home ministry under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and its chief Neeta, aged about 56 years, was designated as an individual terrorist by the ministry in 2020. He is currently believed to be in Pakistan and figures among the 20 terrorists that India wants Pakistan to deport. The group has presence in the UK, Germany and the US among other countries and works with other pro-Khalistan elements active abroad, including in Canada.

According to the ministry, KZF has been involved in more than a dozen incidents of bombing and killing of religious leaders in the past.

Earlier, the Punjab Police arrested three suspected KZF operatives allegedly involved in an attack on a police post in Asron by hurling a hand grenade on December 2. The module has received ₹4.5 lakh over the past six months. Investigations have revealed that the arrested persons had retrieved a hand grenade from a dead letter box located on GT Road in Jalandhar on November 28 and hurled it at a police post in Asron in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. A dead letter box is a secret location used to exchange information or items between two people without meeting in person.

- With Agency Inputs