Pro-Khalistan group leader plotting to attack Badal arrested in Rajasthan

A pro-Khalistani leader, who was the alleged mastermind behind a plot to kill former Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, was apprehended on Thursday in Bikaner during a joint operation by the Punjab Police and Rajasthan Police, an official said.

The arrested man, Garman Singh, is the leader of a pro- Khalistani radical outfit which had attacked and looted police rifles in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district on October 2, police said.

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“We received some inputs from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Punjab police about Garman Singh who was hiding in Bikaner. On the basis of that, the accused was traced and nabbed in a Gurdwara in Kolayat area,” Bikaner IG Dinesh M N told PTI.

According to police, with the arrest of three men associated with a pro-Khalistan outfit in Shamli district on October 2 had later confessed to plotting to kill Punjab leader and his family members during his political rallies.

“The accused is the leader of a pro-Khalistani module that had attacked and looted two rifles from policemen in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district on October 2 and was also planning to target former Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal,” he said, adding, that the arrested accused will be handed over to the Punjab ATS.

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The accused, Garman who, according to the police, received support from overseas to launch an attack on Badals and other leaders said to be against Khalistan movement.

Garman was wanted by the ATS of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh police, they said.

(With PTI inputs)