Petrol Bomb Attack on Shiv Sena Leader, Alleged BKI Module Involved

On 2 Nov, three individuals hurled a petrol bomb at the home of Shiv Sena (Hind) leader Harjot Singh Khurana in Ludhiana’s Model Town, Panjab. Panjab police, in collaboration with the Counter Intelligence Wing, arrested four members allegedly of a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module. The suspects, Jaswinder Singh alias Binder, Ravinder Pal Singh alias Ravi, Manish Sahid alias Sanju, and Anil Kumar alias Honey, were involved in two incidents, including an 16 Oct attack on Shiv Sena leader Yogesh Bakshi’s residence in Haibowal and the attack on Khurana’s home. Two of the arrested are from the Hindu community, raising questions about BKI’s actual involvement. Concurrently, after an encounter near the outskirts of Jalandhar Cantonment, on 5 Nov, Panjab police arrested two gangsters of the Kaushal-Bambiha gang, identified as Rajeshwar Kumar and Deepak Vaid alias Babu. Panjab’s Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav stated that both gangsters sustained critical injuries while attempting to escape from custody. At the same time, on 4 Nov, gangsters opened fire at two business establishments in Delhi, demanding extortion amounts totaling approximately USD 1.1M and 1.7M. Meanwhile, Panjab police have arrested two key suspects, Navjot Singh and Anmolpreet Singh, in connection with the murder of Sikh activist Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau. The arrests were made by the Counter intelligence Wing in Kharar, Mohali, on 9 Nov, approximately a month after Gurpreet was shot dead by four assailants (SDW Vol 2, Issue 43, Story 5).