BJP MP Brij Lal moves zero-hour notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss RPG attack in Punjab

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Lal gave Zero Hour notice in the Upper House of Parliament to discuss the Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack in Punjab.

A low-intensity blast was reported at the Tarn Taran Police Sanjha Kendra in Punjab on December 9, which the police said was a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack. It also said that they have registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

In the case, the Punjab Police on December 16 informed that they have arrested six persons, including two juveniles, for RPG attack at Police Station Sarhali building in Tarn Taran.

Apart from the arrest of two juveniles in conflict with law, the remaining four module members arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Numberdar (18), Jobanpreet Singh alias Joban (18) both of Naushera Pannua, Gurlal Singh (19) of Chohla Sahib, and Surlalpal Singh alias Gurlal alias Lali (21) of village Thathiya Mahanta.

"Pertinently, Gopi Numberdar, who was on bail as he was arrested as a juvenile, turned 18-years-old a day after his release on November 22, 2022, and immediately got in touch with the foreign-based handlers. The foreign-based handlers used cut-outs and Dead Letter Box (DLB) techniques for retrieval of consignment and establishing contact so that the module members were assigned tasks directly by the handlers and were aware of only their roles. Even the identities of sub-modules remained hidden from other sub-modules," the senior official said.

The Police teams have also recovered three pistols-- two .32 bore and one .30 bore along with ammunition, one hand grenade P-86 and one motorcycle used in the crime from the possession of the arrested persons.

Notably, the Soviet era made a single-use 70mm calibre RPG-26 weapon, which was used to carry out the attack, had already been recovered on December 10. The RPG-26 weapon, which was used by Mujahdeen in Afghanistan, was sourced from across the border.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the Taran Taran Police, in coordination with the Counter Intelligence Wing of Punjab Police have conducted meticulous investigations based on technical and intelligence inputs.

The Police have also arrested Jobanpreet Joban and Gurlal Lali from near Naushehra Pannuan and recovered one .30 bore pistol along with 35 live cartridges and a motorcycle used in the crime from his possession.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that during interrogation, accused Joban corroborated the disclosure of Gopi regarding retrieval of RPG and also disclosed that on the instructions of Landa and Satta, he had picked one juvenile in conflict with law from village Shahbajpur and dropped him at village Marhana on instructions of Gurdev alias Jaisel.

"Connecting the dots, Police teams have successfully apprehended both the juvenile attackers from Tubewell at Chamba village and recovered one .32 bore pistol alongwith 15 live cartridges from their possession," he said, adding that after the attack, they both fled to village Saido and took shelter in a tubewell room already arranged by Landa. Both shooters had learnt to operate the RPG from YouTube videos and were given instructions by Landa in a video call as well, he said.

Punjab Police registered FIR dated December 9 under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act at Police Station Sarhali.

( With inputs from ANI )