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Punjab Timeline - 2010
Date Incidents
January 18-19
A bomb, suspected to be an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), was discovered kept along the Bhiwanigarh-Nabha highway outside the Indian Oil Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling plant in Nabha in Patiala District late in the evening of January 18, Police said on January 19.

February 20
Two militants of KCF were arrested with explosives at a check-post near Rajgarh villagein Patiala District. Jasvir Singh alias Jassa ofMaanki village in Sangrur District and Harjant Singh alias DC from Gurdaspur District, who were involved in more than 12 cases since 1993, were arrested when they were on their way to plant bombs in Ambala, Inspector General (IG) of Patiala range, P.S Gill, said on February 21. They had reportedly planted bombs outside an LPG refilling plant near Nabha town in January 2010 and on a road leading to Indian Air Force station at Zirakpur, near Chandigarh. Nearly eight kilograms of explosives, 40 gelatin sticks, two pistols and some ammunition were seized from them, the IG said. The IG claimed that the duo had met KCF’s Bakhshish Singh alias Baba who is absconding since the Karnal bomb attack attempt on the Dera Sacha Sauda (a group regarded as 'heretic' by orthodox Sikhs) chief in a high security jail during the days of militancy in Punjab. According to Gill, another KCF terrorist Harminder Singh, now in Malaysia, provided arms, ammunition, explosives and money to DC, Jassa and Baba through the hawala (informal money transfer system) route and the trio had planted bombs with the help of another person, Pargat Singh, near the LPG plant in Nabha and the airbase.

March 18-19
A joint Police team of the Punjab and Delhi Police neutralised a module of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), an outfit backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), by arresting three militants from Punjab and Delhi. Two suspected BKI militants, identified as Daljit Kumar alias Deepak of Baltana from Mohali District and Purshotam Singh alias Bunty from Rajoura in Patiala District, were arrested at the Zirakpur-Patiala road near Zirakpur in an operation conducted by the Mohali Police and the Special Cell of Delhi Police in the night of March 18. The third militant of the outfit, identified as Karwinder Singh, a native of Ropar, was arrested in Delhi on March 19.


The arrests indicate that BKI is being pressured, just like Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorists hosted by Pakistan, by its ISI handlers to revive terrorist activities. Senior Superintendent of Police, Mohali, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that two France-based terrorists identified as Purshotam Singh of Matheri and Goldy of Ghel, both from Ambala District, were funding the terrorists activities. INR 100000 recovered from the two militants was sent by them. Police also recovered a .455 bore revolver with three cartridges from the two militants. Purshottam Singh, a proclaimed offender, is reportedly one of the accused involved in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, but could not be arrested. He had also tried to eliminate former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal before Benat Singh's assassination. Preliminary interrogation of the accused revealed that they were planning to carry out blasts in the region to create terror, the cops said, adding that more revelations are expected in the coming days. A case against them was registered at the Zirakpur Police Station and they were produced in the Derabassi court from where they were sent to Police remand till March 21.

March 21
Two militants of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), arrested by Mohali Police, were produced in the court on March 21 and remanded to two-day Police custody.

March 23
Five "Pakistan-made" hand grenades were seized from the Mohali District, following the arrest of BKI. The grenades were recovered from Siswan village in Mullanpur town, about 14 kilometres away from the Punjab Cricket Association stadium, where one of the Indian Premier League cricket mach is scheduled to be held on March 24 (today). Mohali's Superintendent of Police Varinderpal Singh said that the grenades were made in Pakistan and had an imprint of 'P-86' on them.

March 25
Three BKI militants were arrested at Rajpura of Patiala District. They were identified as Waryam Singh alias Jasbir Singh alias Giani of Mohali District,Kulwant Singh of Mann Kheri District and Bhupinder Singh of Ropar District. Senior Superintendent of Police R. S. Khatra said that they confessed that they were in constant touch with Italy-based BKI militant Jasvir Singh Jassi, who gave them the weapons to eliminate Baba Bhaniarwala to create unrest in the State. They were paid heavily by Jassi and were asked to step up militant activity in the State, Khatra said. Waryam Singh, who was lodged in Ambala Jail for his anti-social activities, had jumped parole and was declared a proclaimed offender, he said. The trio had made unsuccessful attempts twice to kill the Baba, Khatra said.

March 26
Two Pakistani intruders were shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) troops at a village near the border in Punjab and fake Indian currency with a face value of INR 6.5 million was seized, officials said. The duo infiltrated into Indian territory in the border village of Naushera Dhalla and reached near the barbed wire fencing at around midnight of March 25, they said. The troops asked them to surrender but they tried to flee, following which they were shot dead. The BSF personnel later carried a search operation in the area which led to the recovery of the fake currency notes in the denomination of INR 500 and INR 1000.

March 29
A BKI militant, identified as Piara Singh, a resident of Gattikatar village in Ferozepur, was arrested with 3.5 kilograms of RDX, which he had reportedly smuggled from Pakistan for supplying to BKImilitants in Punjab, Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said at a press conference. With the arrest of the explosives supplier to BKI, the Mohali District Police claimed to have foiled another bid of the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-backed BKI to revive militancy in Punjab, Delhi and across country. The SSP added that Piara Singh was a known smuggler of heroin and other contrabands and had walked out of jail a fortnight ago after serving a term in a drug smuggling case. During his stay in jail, he allegedly came in contact with some BKI militants, who asked him to smuggle and supply explosives after his release from jail, Bhullar claimed, while adding that Piara was arrested from the clues extracted during interrogation of suspected BKI militants, Gurpreet Singh and Balveer Singh Bhootna, who were taken into custody from Nabha jail last week on production warrants.

The Police are, however, still to identify one of Piara’s accomplices, in connivance with whom, he had hidden the RDX underground near Mamdot area in Ferozepur. A First Information Report against Piara was lodged under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Explosives Act, 1884, and Arms Act, 1959, at the Zirakpur Police Station on March 19. Till now, a total of six suspected BKI militants have been arrested in the case and INR 100000 alleged hawala (informal money laundering system) money, a sophisticated revolver, three live cartridges and five hand grenades recovered.

March 30
A special court sentenced BKI militant Paramjit Singh Bheora to life imprisonment, after convicting him of involvement in the 1995 assassination of the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. A fine of INR 65000 was also slapped on Bheora, who was on March 29 convicted of criminal conspiracy for his involvement in the assassination of Beant Singh by a suicide bomber, Dilawar Singh,August 31, 1995, at the high-security Punjab Civil Secretariat complex in Chandigarh. Jagtar Singh Hawara, an accomplice of Bheora, was earlier sentenced to death in 2007 in the same case.

April 17
A suspected BKI militant, identified as Avtar Singh, was arrested by Zirakpur Police from Materi village in Ambala on April 17, reports Times of India. He was produced in the Derabassi court on April 18 from where he was sent in Police remand till April 22. Station House Officer Yogi Raj stated that they raided the accused’s hideout on a tip-off and arrested him from Materi village bus stand. He is said to be brother of another BKI cadre Purshotam Singh, who is living in France. According to Police sources, Purshotam was regularly sending money to BKI cadres in India to sustain their criminal activities.

April 18
Pakistani Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing in the Bamial sector in Pathankot along the International Border late in the night of April 18, drawing retaliation from the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, reports PTI. No casualty was reported in the firing. The firing lasted for 30 minutes. There have been incidents of unprovoked firing from Pakistan side in Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir) and Amritsar sectors in the recent past and BSF authorities had lodged protests with Pakistani authorities.

April 19
A link between the KZF and LeT has once again surfaced with the infiltration of two militants, including a Pakistani and a local of Doda in Jammu and Kashmir, from Bamial sector of Gurdaspur District in Punjab 17 militants, who were pushed to this side from Pallanwalla and Nowshera, during encounters with the Army and Police.

April 25
Two militants of the LeT, including a Pakistani, were shot dead by Punjab Police in the morning of April 25 at village Rattarwaha in Gurdaspur District, bordering Kathua District in Jammu and Kashmir, reports Daily Excelsior. Two Punjab Police personnel were killed and four others injured in the operation. Recoveries made from their possession include two AK-47 rifles, two pistols, six Chinese grenades, 16 AK and pistol magazines, all loaded, four IEDs, one compass, packets of detol soap and some other belongings.

May 5
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Paramjit Singh Gill said that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) keeps backing anti-national elements to disturb peace in Punjab but they were vigilant enough to thwart any challenge to the law and order situation in the State, reports Indian Express. He said that there were reports that ISI keeps instigating Khalistani as well as Kashmiri terrorists to jointly strike at sensitive places. Asked if there were efforts to bring Khalistani and Kashmiri terrorists, often called a K2 factor, together, Gill said the way the ISI operates is clear indication that Pakistan’s agencies tries to ensure their closer coordination. He also highlighted that various gaps on Indo-Pak border, especially in the riverine belts, help the terrorists to sneak in and bring in arms and drugs. "The Border Security Force [BSF] has been making a tremendous effort to check the loopholes and guard the border," said Gill giving clean chit to the Force for any lapses. On the review of blacklist of Sikh Non Resident Indians who had been debarred from visiting India, he said the list was prepared by the Union Government during terrorism days and it keeps reviewing the same. "The list keeps changing with the old names deleted and a few more added and it is entirely the prerogative of the Union Ministry for Home," he said. Further, he said that terrorists who committed heinous crimes in Punjab during the height of militancy and are now hiding in Pakistan can return to India to surrender before the authorities, adds Outlook. Terrorists like Ranjit Singh Neeta, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Wadhawa Singh Babbar and others, hiding in Pakistan and other countries, could return to India and surrender, he told reporters in Amritsar. But, this should be in accordance with the existing policies of the Union and the State Government, the DGP said. The surrender of militants had happened many times in the past and the same process could be followed now, he said.In reply to a question, the DGP said he did not foresee revival of terrorism in Punjab, adding no Naxal (Left Wing Extremist) elements or terrorists are present in Punjab now. There are some "sleeping Naxal elements" in Punjab but these are harmless, he said adding the police are keeping a vigil on them. Gill said in 1969, Naxals were crushed by the Punjab Police and "they can't dare to raise their heads again in the State".

May 8
A car with two kilograms of explosives was found abandoned near a busy Railway Station in Amritsar, Police said. The vehicle reportedly carried a fake Delhi registration number. "The car (DEA 5554) was found near the crowded station," Amritsar Police Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma. "One detonator and two packets of explosives, weighing nearly two kg, were recovered from the vehicle. The packets have been sent to the laboratory to ascertain their exact content and the nature of the explosives. An extensive search operation has been launched in the area," he added.

Although, so far, no particular terrorist outfit has taken the responsibility, Police believe this incident was part of the attempt of BKI and Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) elements to revive terrorism in Punjab.

May 25
Two Pakistani nationals were arrested by the BSF while trying to infiltrate into the Indian side at Dera Baba Nanak sector in Gurdaspur District of Punjab, officials said on May 25, reports Times of India. The duo, who were in their 20s, were also carrying PKR 6,000 in, they said.

May 26
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) P. S. Gill said that there have been signs of Naxals (Left Wing Extremists) re-grouping in the State, but their movements were still at a low level and the situation is not serious yet.

May 29
An ISI agent, identified as Irfan Ulla was arrested, with maps of vital defence installations, near the Indian Air Force (IAF) station at Mullanpur in Mohali District. The Police recovered a pistol with 20 live cartridges, maps, pictures and code numbers of IAF stations and airports in different parts of the country from him. Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar told journalists that Ulla was an ISI agent and close aide of dreaded terrorists Ranjit Singh alias Neta, head of the KZF, and his associate Gurmeet Singh Bagga, who is based in Germany.


A hardcore terrorist, who reportedly masterminded a bomb attack on the convoy of the Dera Sacha Sauda (a group regarded as ''heretic'' by orthodox Sikhs) chief in Karnal in February 2008, has been arrested by the Punjab Police. Bakshish Singh Baba was arrested from Amritsar recently by the Special Operation Cell and was being interrogated, top Police sources said. The Police was trying to apprehend his other accomplices hiding in Punjab and neighbouring States, they added. According to the sources, the KLF terrorist was wanted for "masterminding" the bomb attack on Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh in Karnal in February 2008 in which nine persons were injured. Baba, carrying a reward of INR 500000 on his head, was reportedly involved in more than 25 cases of terror related activities and destruction of public property in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

June 10
Five persons have been arrested from a village in Amritsar and six kilograms of RDX as well 20 detonators, time-devices and heroin recovered from them, Police said on June 10. The special operation cell of the intelligence wing of Punjab Police raided a village in border District follow a tip-off, said a senior official. "We have arrested five accused and recovered six kilograms of RDX, 20 detonators, 10 time-devices, 10 metres of fuse wire and two kilograms heroin from their possession," the official told IANS on condition of anonymity. "Right now we are not in a position to tell from where they had procured these explosives and drugs. Their interrogation is on and very soon we will unearth the truth. We will look into all aspects and also try to ascertain whether they have any foreign links," he added.

June 12
The Police arrested two suspected BKI militants and recovered a pistol and 10 live cartridges from their possession. Police said Balwinder Singh alias Binda and Manjinder Singh alias Manna, residents of Bijliwal village, were arrested from a fuel pump at Khanowal village under Kila Lal Singh Police Station in Gurdaspur District when they had gone there to get petrol for their motorcycle. They said Police was on look out for the duo and they were arrested following disclosures made by another BKI militant Harwant Singh alias PC, who was arrested by Patiala Police three months earlier. The two arrested suspects had hidden arms and ammunition in a water cooler they were carrying, Police said.

June 13
Bakhsish Singh, a KLF militant who was arrested on May 30 said on June 13, when freed he would again make an attempt to kill controversial Dera Sacha Sauda (a group regarded as 'heretic' by orthodox Sikhs) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who had emulated Guru Gobind Singh, leading to clashes between Sikhs and Dera followers two years ago. He told the media gathered on the local court premises that he had done nothing wrong by targetting the Dera head and would not mind making another attempt on his life.

June 14
Five suspected militants of the BKI have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days by the Dera Bassi court. Earlier, these militants were in Police custody. According to information, militants sent to judicial remand include Balbeer Singh, alias Bhootna, Nirmal Singh, alias Nimma, Avtar Singh, Daljit and Deepak. The accused had reportedly been involved in terrorist activities and arms and ammunition were also seized from their possession.


Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said that arrests show forces are alert even as the arrest of two more suspected terrorists belonging to the dreaded BKI on June 12 in Batala has caused concerns regarding the revival of militancy in the State, ruled out any "threat to peace in Punjab". He said the arrests were testimony to the fact that Security Forces were alert and they would thwart any attempt to disturb law and order.

June 15-16
A suspected militant of the BKI, identified as Sukhdev Singh alias Sukha, has been arrested on June 15 and 1.4 kilograms RDX, besides arms and ammunition, recovered in Amritsar District, Police said on June 16. ''After a secret tip-off, we arrested Sukhdev late Tuesday night from the border of Khalkian and Rattangarh villages. He was wanted in many pending criminal cases,'' Senior Superintendent of Police (Special Operation Cell) Malwinder Singh said. ''We have recovered 1.4 kilogram RDX, two pistols, one automatic machine gun and over 130 live cartridges from his possession. Our interrogation is on and we are trying to unearth other details from him,'' he added.

June 18
The Punjab Police arrested a BKI militant from Bhagowal village near Batala area in Gurdaspur District. He was identified as Jagtar Singh, a resident of Bhagowal village under Qilla Lal Singh Police Station. Jagtar Singh was sent to Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) Amritsar for investigations, Batala Police sources said.

June 22
The State Special Operation Cell of Intelligence Wing of the Punjab Police with the interrogation of arrested BKI militant Nishan Singh recovered one AK-47 assault rifle, 110 cartridges, one revolver 32 bore and three automatic Chinese pistols. Following Singh’s arrest, an Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) team had visited his village, Daleke, in Taran Taaran District of Punjab. The team recovered a huge cache of imported arms hidden in the farms by Singh. The weapons were sent from Pakistan. An ATS official said, "Investigations revealed that Singh’s family owns 13 acres of agricultural land and a house in Daleke. On digging the farms, we recovered an AK-47 rifle with 110 live rounds, one .32 Chinese made pistol, one 9mm Belgium made pistol with eight rounds, one .32 French made pistol and one .32 Kanpur ordnance factory made pistol with 10 live rounds were seized." The official added that Daleke is about 30 kilometres away from India-Pakistan border and the weapons were sent from Pakistan. "Singh has also said that in past 18 months, he had made dealings of 150 kilograms of heroine through his drug syndicate. We are investigating whether he had any drug network in Mumbai," the official said.

July 18
Punjab Police said that it had arrested four militants of the BKI and recovered weapons and explosives from them. The four include BKI commander Harmohinder Singh, who was the mastermind in the 2007 Ludhiana cinema blast. The other three were his accomplices and they were staying in a rented accommodation here for the past few weeks. Police have recovered 3.1 kilogram of RDX, an AK-47 and a revolver from them. "Following a tip-off from the family members of Harmohinder, we laid a trap and arrested him and his three accomplices from here Friday night. Harmohinder was one of the most wanted terrorist and he was planning some more terror activities in this region," Khanna's Deputy Superintendent of Police Manjit Singh Brar told IANS. According to Police sources, Harmohinder had fled to Pakistan after the 2007 blast and only returned a few months ago. His wife and other family members stay in Ludhiana.


Meanwhile, Punjab Government recommend deletion of names of 46 former Khalistani militants from the union Government’s list of 'blacklisted' Sikh radicals. The existing blacklist — meant for travel ban and denial of visa — comprises names of 169 Sikhs who were directly or indirectly associated with various pro-Khalistan militant outfits. Names of 46 of them, however, have been cleared by a Punjab Government committee for deletion from the central list.


July 20
The Director General of Police in Punjab, P.S. Gill, said that Pakistan''s ISI is helping terrorists to penetrate into East Punjab. Interacting with media, after presiding over a high-level meeting at Amritsar, Gill told journalists about the ISI''s nefarious activities. He claimed militants were receiving funds to the tune of Lakhs (100000) from Pakistan, and, had undergone training in the use of RDX, manufacturing of bombs, hand grenades, all kinds of rifles and pistols in Pakistan. While answering a question on Pakistan''s involvement in trying to establish a terror network in Punjab, Gill said: "Yes, Pakistan and ISI are trying to push them into Punjab". "But there is no cause of worry, Punjab Police is fully equipped to handle the situation," he added.

July 22
The Ludhiana Police arrested a Pakistani national on charges of espionage, Nizam Baksh was arrested by the Kotwali Police and photographs of Army stations, maps of Army installations, four SIM cards and other documents were recovered from his possession. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harsh Bansal said, "The man had been living in the city for nearly five years on a fake identity of one Sandeep Singh, son of Daljit Singh, of Shahkot District in Jalandhar. We are interrogating him, but he keeps changing his statements," adding that the accused conceded that he was Nizam Baksh, son of Allaudin tehsil at Jahania in Thanewal District of Pakistan, Bansal said he had been living in Adrash Colony near Samrala Chowk. "The man arrested has received training from the ISI [Inter Services Intelligence] and was sent to India in 2005. Though Baksh claims to have travelled to almost all major cities and towns of Punjab like Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Amritsar and others, his main base was Ludhiana where he worked as a contractor," the Police official added further.

July 23
Pakistan-based Sikh militants, supported by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), might carry out bomb blasts in New Delhi before the Commonwealth Games, the Punjab Police has alerted, reports Times of India. An advisory circulated recently among all senior officers in the State by the intelligence department of Punjab Police has pointed out that Sikh militant leaders based in Pakistan are under "tremendous pressure" from the ISI to carry out sabotage activities in India before the Games. "Militant leaders, including KZF chief Ranjit Singh Neeta are planning to undertake some militant actions, including bomb blasts, before the Games scheduled in New Delhi in October," the advisory said. It also stated that around 15 kilograms RDX was smuggled into India from Pakistan by Neeta's contacts, which was divided into three parts, most of which has been seized by Police from different places in the State including Ferozepur and Rajpura. Intelligence sources of the State Police have inputs that Neeta could himself enter India if those directed to carry out the nefarious designs failed in their task. "Certain militants sitting abroad are desperate to push four Sikh extremists into India to carry out nefarious activities," the advisory said. Meanwhile, police have been sensitised and directed to take necessary preventive and detective measures to avoid any untoward incident, official sources said.

July 28
The Punjab Police arrested five Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) militants with two AK-47 rifles and a huge quantity of ammunition and explosives, reports Indian Express. Pal Singh of Dhandowal village in Jalandhar, Kulwant Singh of Varpal village, Gurmukh Singh alias Gana of Pandori Mehma, Jagtar Singh of Thoba village in Amritsar and Darshan Singh Dhadi of Dhaliwal in Jalandhar were arrested with two AK-47 rifles, five magazines and 420 live rounds, including 200 armoured piercing cartridges, Superintendent of Police (SP) P. Mandeep Singh said, adding that a case under various sections of Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention)Act has been registered against them.


Addressing media persons at a press conference, SP Mandeep Singh said, "We nabbed Gurmukh and Kulwant from the Amritsar bypass and seized two AK-47 assault rifles and 420 cartridges from their possession. About 200 of the cartridges could penetrate bullet-proof vehicles", adds Hindustan Times. "Further investigation revealed that Kulwant, who is known to Narain Singh, alias Chaura, and Pal Singh, had received a consignment of RDX and weapons from Jagtar, which was later handed over to Narain. Subsequently, a part of the consignment was given to Pal Singh," the SP said.

August 2
Police claimed to have arrested two conduits of the KZF in connection with seizure of arms and ammunition from Border out Post (BoP) Bakarpur in R S Pura sector of Jammu District. Parveen Kumar son of Bihari Lal and Satnam alias Tani son of Prabhu Dayal resident of Kapoorpur in R S Pura were arrested by the Police in connection with seizure of arms and ammunition from Border out Post (BoP) Bakarpur in RS Pura, a week ago. "Both the accused during interrogation disclosed that KZF chief Neeta, presently in Pakistan had sent the said consignment of arms and ammunition to this side for carrying subversive activities in Pakistan," sources said, adding that it was the second consignment sent by Neeta in last few months. Sources said that duo further disclosed that first consignment was handed over by them to Darshan Singh son of Ajit Singh resident of Nadi (R S Pura) and they got INR 25,000 for this job. Darshan, however, went underground soon after Border Security Force troopers recovered a big consignment of arms and ammunition including Chinese Pistols and rounds from BoP Bakarpura.

August 4
A serious attempt is being made by the militants sitting in Pakistan with the help of Pakistan’s Army and spy agencies to revive militancy in Punjab using former militants and border smugglers and International Border (IB) of Jammu for smuggling of arms, explosives and hawala money. Some important revelations have been made by two border smugglers and courier of militants, arrested by Police and Counter Intelligence (CI) in Jammu, during their sustained interrogation at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) pertaining to revival of militancy in Punjab, official sources said.


Sources said Satnam Singh alias Tainy son of Prabhu Dayal, a resident of Kapoorpur in RS Pura and Parvesh son of Bihari Lal, a resident of Avtal in RS Pura were reported to have disclosed during their questioning by Police and CI that the militants of Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) with active connivance of Pakistan Army, Rangers and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) used to throw consignments of arms, explosives, ammunition and hawala money from across the border to this side at a fixed point near the border fencing. The consignments were meant for ‘KZF’ militants in Punjab.

August 13
The Union Government removed names of 23 former Khalistani militants, all foreign nationals, from the Centre's list of blacklisted Sikh radicals as they are not involved in any serious criminals cases and anti-India activities. Consequently, these 23 persons will now be able to get Indian visa and travel to any parts of India without any restriction. The Punjab State Government had recently recommended to the Centre for striking off the names of 46 radicals from the then list that comprised 169 persons, who originally hailed from the State and have since settled in different countries across the world, including US, Canada, Germany and UK. The list, meant for travel ban and denial of visa, still has 146 names of Sikh radicals, who were directly or indirectly associated with various pro-Khalistan militant outfits.

August 17 The Central Government said that Sikh militant groups from abroad are trying to resurrect militancy in Punjab. "Available reports suggest that Sikh militant groups especially those based in abroad are continuing their efforts to revive militancy in Punjab," Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken informed the Lok Sabha.

August 25
The IB warned that "inimical agencies" operating from "international bases" were trying to revive militancy in Punjab by forging an alliance between Khalistani outfits and the LeT. Calling attempts to revive Sikh militancy a worrisome trend, IB Chief Rajiv Mathur said, "There have been clear attempts by inimical agencies abroad to reactivate Sikh terrorist elements, forge nexus between LeT and terrorist groups like BKI and KZF and mobilise their resources for planning terrorist violence in Punjab and elsewhere in the country." Mathur, though, did not name any country or identified any agency, officials tracking the development later said interrogation of those arrested recently in Jalandhar and Amritsar in Punjab clearly hinted at their association with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.

October 10
A cadre of the KZF, who is also associated with the BKI, was arrested by Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh Police from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The arrestee, identified as Gurjant Singh, was a native of Kurukshetra District in Haryana. An Italian pistol and some documents were seized from him. Gurjant reportedly acted as a link between KZF and BKI.

October 18
An alleged BKI operative Karanbir Singh escaped from Police custody under the pretext of going to the toilet. The incident occurred in Hoshiarpur District, when Police personnel and officers were interrogating Karanbir, who was booked for the murder of the head of a religious sect in June 2010. He escaped through a window. A reward of INR 5 lakh has been announced.Karanbir was arrested on October 17. An AK-47, an AK-56 assault rifle, two hand grenades, 5.4 kilograms of RDX, six magazines, 276 rounds of ammunition, two detonators, a timer device and a remote control were recovered from him.

October 23
The Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh (UP) arrested a BKI terrorist, identified as Makkhan Singh, from Barhni area of Sidharthnagar District on the Indo-Nepal border. ATS personnel also recovered one mobile phone along with Indian and foreign currencies from the accused. Makkhan was arrested when he was going to Punjab to acquire a fresh passport to leave India.


The arrestee, a resident of Garhshanker in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab, was involved in several cases of terrorist acts in Punjab. UP Additional Director General of Police (ATS) Brij Lal said on October 24 that Makkhan is a close associate of BKI chief Badhawa Singh, who is hiding in Pakistan at present. Makkhan had stayed in several foreign countries since 1987 and after returning to India in 1997, he joined the banned outfit. He also received terrorist training in Pakistan and stayed there for more than nine years. Makkhan sneaked into India from Gurudaspur (Punjab) border in November 2009 and assisted other people in terrorist acts. Makkhan is the second BKI terrorist arrested in UP after Gurjant Singh who was arrested in September, also from the Indo-Nepal border.

November 4
The Punjab Police recovered a bomb, two detonators, a .30 bore Chinese pistol and six live cartridges following interrogation of the recently arrested militants. Addressing a press conference, Fatehgarh Sahib Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) R S Khatra informed that after the interrogation of militant Jasmail Singh alias Sahib Singh, resident of Rupalheri village of the District, the Police recovered a bomb and two detonators from a hideout near Satluj Yamuna Link canal near Mehdoda village. He added that after the interrogation of another militant Rashpal Singh, a resident of Bhagora village in Nawashahar District, the Police recovered .30 bore China made pistol and six live cartridges. In his interrogation Jasmail Singh told the Police that he was also involved in killing of Tarna Dal chief Baba Ajit Singh Poohla in jail as he had provided kerosene oil in jail which was used in killing of Poohla, the SSP claimed. He said the militants wanted to kill Baba Mann Singh Pehowale. They had collected money and received a bomb and two detonators from Babbar Khalsa militant Ramandeep Singh Goldy, a resident of Bassi Pathana for this purpose. The militants had also planned to kill Additional Director General of Police (Vigilance Chief) Sumedh Singh Saini and even chased him at his farm house in Kansal. The SSP also claimed that the arrested militants had received money from Babbar Khalsa to revive terrorism in Punjab.The three militants, identified as Jasmail Singh alias Sahib Singh, Kulvinder Singh alias Kala and Arshpal Singh alias Rashpal Singh were arrested by a Police party near Buga Kanchian in the night of October 31 when they were travelling in a car.

December 8
Union Government said that militant groups, especially those based abroad, were trying to revive militancy in Punjab. Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken, however, added that there were no specific inputs indicating the development of any nexus between Khalistani outfits like BKI or KZF and militant Islamist organisations like LeT.