Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
In a major breakthrough in anti-terror operations, the Punjab Police’s special cell has seized a cache of terrorist hardware and ammunition in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, foiling an attempt by Pakistan’s ISI-backed cross-border terror networks to revive sleeper cells in the region, officials said on Tuesday.
Acting on intelligence inputs, the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of Punjab Police, in coordination with central agencies, seized two rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), five P-86 hand grenades, and a wireless communication set, the Punjab Police DGP tweeted.
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“Preliminary probe indicate a coordinated operation by Pakistan’s ISI and allied terror outfits to revive sleeper cells in Punjab,” he said.
The anti-terror operation comes just days after Pakistan-based terrorists opened fire on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, killing 26 people, most of them tourists. Security agencies, particularly in border regions, have been placed on high alert following the April 22 attack.
Terrorist sleeper cells are covert groups of terrorists who remain inactive for long periods, blending into local communities until they receive orders to carry out attacks or provide support to active terrorist operations. Speaking exclusively to India Today, a former sleeper cell member said that the Pahalgam attack couldn’t have been possible without the help of sleeper cells and around 5-6 of them were in touch with the Lashkar terrorists who carried out the attack.
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In a similar anti-terror operation on Sunday, the Border Security Force (BSF) arrested a Pakistani national in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district for allegedly attempting to infiltrate the India-Pakistan border. The individual, identified as Muhammad Hussain, has been handed over to the Punjab Police and remains in custody.
Last week, a Pakistani Ranger, part of the country’s paramilitary force, was also detained by Indian border forces. A preliminary investigation suggests the soldier may have been on an espionage or reconnaissance mission, amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attacks.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
