Harpreet Singh, responsible for terror attacks in Punjab, arrested by FBI

National Investigation Agency (NIA) charge-sheeted Harpreet Singh, accused of carrying out terror attacks in Punjab, has been arrested by the US security agencies – the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Enforcement and Removal Operations in California's Sacramento.

The FBI said on Friday that Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia, entered the US illegally and used burner phones to evade capture.

Hailing from Passia village in Ajnala, the terrorist has been linked to at least 16 grenade attacks in Punjab, targeting police posts, religious sites, and residences.

On March 23, the NIA chargesheeted four terror operatives of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist organisation in the 2024 Chandigarh grenade attack case.

The chargesheeted accused include Pakistan-based designated individual terrorist Harwinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, and US-based.

Sandhu and Passia were the primary handlers and conspirators behind the attack. They had provided logistical support, terror funds, weapons, and ammunition to India-based on-ground operatives in Chandigarh for executing the grenade attack, said the NIA.

The September 2024 attack was intended to target a retired officer of the Punjab Police, whom the assailants believed to be the occupant of the house.

NIA investigations revealed that Rinda, along with Passia, had orchestrated the conspiracy to strike terror among law enforcement officials and the public through the grenade attack, as part of the broader aim to promote BKI's terrorist agenda.

They had recruited local operatives, Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, who were tasked with carrying out the attack on their direct instructions.

Rinda and Passia directed the other accused, Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, to conduct reconnaissance on the target twice before hurling the grenade, investigations revealed.

In the chargesheet filed before the  in Chandigarh, all four accused have been charged under multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act, and other related provisions, for their roles in planning and supporting the attack.

Investigations in the case are continuing, and the NIA is trying to track down other members of the BKI terror group and dismantle its network in India.

(With inputs from IANS)