New Delhi: An Indian Army aspirant was among six persons sentences to life by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mohali, Punjab, on Tuesday. The six, along with three others, have been found guilty of using drones to smuggle in weapons and explosives from Pakistan and supplying them to Khalistani terrorists. Three others have been sentenced to 10 years each, in this case.
According to the NIA, this case is linked to designated terrorists Gurmeet Singh alias Bagga and Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta. The convicts are associated with the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), a proscribed organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
Akashdeep Singh, Balwant Singh, Balbir Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Maan Singh, Shubhdeep Singh, Sajanpreet Singh, Gurdev Singh and Romandeep Singh, were all convicted and sentenced under various sections of the IPC, UAPA, Arms Act and Explosives Substances Act. The case was taken over by the NIA from the Amritsar Police in October 2019.
“The court, on Tuesday, sentenced Akashdeep Singh, Balwant Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Balbir Singh, Maan Singh and Gurudev Singh to life imprisonment while the others will serve 10 years behind the bars. During investigations, it came to light that the nine were involved in collecting, transporting and smuggling huge caches of arms, ammunitions, explosives, communication devices and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), sent into India by drones. These items were sent by Bagga, who is based on Germany, and Neeta, who is being sheltered by Pakistan,” a senior NIA official said.
According to him, it has been established beyond doubt that the explosives, weapons, and other items were dropped by drones at specific locations in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district between August and September, 2019.
After his arrest, Akashdeep’s family had claimed that he dreamt of joining the Indian Army some day. He even used to work at a Military Dairy Farm at the cantonment near his village – Peerke – in the Ferozepur district of Punjab. How he wandered from his path is not known, but he was arrested on May 6, 2022. He was then 23-years old. The youth apparently used his grandmother’s fields near the Indo-Pakistan border to land the drones.
“The entire conspiracy was aimed at unleashing attacks in Punjab with the aim of striking terror in the minds of the people of India and disrupting the nation’s peace, security and unity with the eventual goal of waging a war against the Government of India,” the NIA submitted in court, leading to the convictions.
