AK-47 & magazine with live cartridges seized by Punjab cops near Gurdaspur District

Barely48 hours after the recovery of 11 HG Arges 84 hand grenades, the Punjab Policeon Tuesday  recovered an AK-47 rifle anda magazine with 30 live cartridges, evidently a part of the same consignmentthat was dropped by the Pak drone in BOP Chakri (PS Dorangala) area inGurdaspur district on Sunday.

Theseizure comes amid concerns raised by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh offresh spurt of efforts by Pakistan-based militants to disturb the borderstate’s peace.  The Chief Minister hadrecently also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard.

Accordingto Punjab DGP, Dinkar Gupta, an extensive search operation had been launched bythe Gurdaspur police in the area where the drone, which was fired at by thepolice and the BSF, was sighted. He said the package containing the assaultrifle

appearedto have been dropped in the wheat fields in the area of village Wazir Chak, 1.5km from village Salach, PS Dorangla (Gurdaspur).

Guptasaid the recovered assault Rifle and the magazine  with 30 live cartridges had also been attachedwith a wooden frame and lowered from the drone with a nylon rope like the handgrenades which were recovered from village Salach on Sunday.

Hesaid this package seemed to be a part of the same consignment, which wasdropped by the drone on the night of 19.12.2020. The spot where the assaultrifle was found is just about 1.5 km away from the spot from where the  hand grenades were recovered, he said.

Guptasaid an FIR (159) had been registered under section 3, 4, 5 ExplosiveSubstances Act, PS Dorangla,  on Sundayand search operations were still continuing as follow-up action.