In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Rural Police has dismantled a Pakistan ISI-backed illegal arms and explosives supply network, foiling a conspiracy to attack police establishments and solving the May 2026 improvised explosive device (IED) blast near Army Cantonment Khasa, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Tuesday.
Police teams have arrested a total of six individuals across two interlinked cases and recovered one hand grenade and one 9MM pistol along with five live cartridges from their possession.
Those arrested in connection with the conspiracy to attack police establishments have been identified as Navdeep Singh, a resident of Fatehgarh Korotana in Dharamkot, Moga; Samuel alias Samu and Sandeep Singh alias Tiddi, both residents of Menewala in Moga. The three operatives arrested for executing the Khasa Cantonment IED blast have been identified as Ramandeep Singh, Jajpreet Singh, and Arshdeep Singh alias Kekra, all residents of Purani Dana Mandi at Attari, Amritsar.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed alleged links of the module with foreign-based smugglers and ISI operatives, with further investigation underway to uncover the complete network and establish backward and forward linkages.
Sharing operational details, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Border Range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on actionable inputs shared by central agencies regarding operatives of cross-border handlers hatching a conspiracy disrupt peace by attacking police buildings, Amritsar Rural Police, acting swiftly, police teams intercepted a motorcycle and apprehended Navdeep Singh along with his associates Samuel alias Samu and Sandeep Singh alias Tiddi. During their search one hand grenade and one 9MM pistol along with five live cartridges from their possession.
In this regard, FIR No. 441 dated 11.10.2026 under sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act and section 25 of the Arms Act has been registered at Police Station Gharinda.
The IGP added that the crackdown also successfully solved the IED explosion that took place on the night of May 5, 2026, around 11 pm against the wall of Brigade Security, Cantt Khasa. To solve the blind blast case, SSP Amritsar Rural Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising SP (Investigation) Ramandeep Singh, SP Operations Gagandeep Singh, DSP Detective Gurinderpal Singh Nagra, DSP Attari Yadwinder Singh, he said.
SSP Kanwalpreet Chahal said that teams led by Incharge CIA Inspector Manmeet Singh and SHO Gharinda Inspector Amandeep Singh successfully apprehended accused Ramandeep Singh, Jajpreet Singh, and Arshdeep Singh alias Kekra following meticulous investigation and technical tracking.
In this regard, a case FIR No. 174 dated 06.05.2026 had been registered under sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act and section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at Police Station Gharinda.
