Punjab Police’s Special Operation Cell has busted a terrorist recruitment, funding and aiding module with the arrest of Pakistan-based terrorist Lakhbir Rode’s close associate Paramjit Singh, alias Punjab Singh, from Sri Guru Ram Das Airport in Amritsar, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.
Paramjit Singh, a British citizen and a founder member of the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), was initially involved in terror activities in Punjab in early 1990s and was later arrested in 2003 and was convicted in cases pertaining to terrorist activities.
After completion of his sentence, the accused returned to Britain but continued his activities in the ISYF by working as a motivator, recruiter, and fund raiser for the organisation in Britain and other European countries.
The DGP said that in 2021, Paramjit Singh’s name figured for his involvement in reorganising of the ISYF cadre in Punjab by arranging and providing funds and militant hardware to target specific people for disrupting peace and harmony.
Terming it as yet another major blow to the terror module attempting to disturb peace in the region, he said investigation is on to unearth and expose the whole terrorist network.
Sharing more details, Assistant Inspector General Sukhminder Singh Mann said the accused was detained by immigration authorities at the airport on Monday, while he was going to board a plane to Britain on a British passport in the name of Punjab Singh.
He said during preliminary investigations it came to light that Paramjit was regularly in touch with Rode. The accused was a frequent visitor to Pakistan and on the instructions of Rode, he used to identify and handpick youth using social media platforms to motivate them to be part of terrorist activities, the AIG said.
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