Rajasthan youth arrested with illegal pistol, links emerge to Ludhiana terror accused

Jaipur, Nov 27 Rajasthan Police in Sri Ganganagar have arrested a youth and recovered an illegal pistol and four cartridges from his possession, officials said on Thursday.

The accused, Rakesh alias Rocky Nehra, a resident of Haripura village (26 GB), was detained on Jassa Singh Road by a team led by Central Bus Stand outpost in-charge Swarn Singh, Kotwali Police Station Inspector Prithvipal Singh said.

Rocky is currently being interrogated, and investigators are probing his suspected links with Ramlal, a key accused arrested recently in Punjab.

Superintendent of Police Dr Amrita Duhan said two terrorists were injured in an encounter with the Punjab Police in Ludhiana last week. One of them, Ramlal, belongs to Takharanwali village under Sri Ganganagar’s Lalgarh police station limits, while the second accused, Deepu, is a resident of Sherewala village in Abohar.

Ramlal, who earlier worked as a labourer, is believed to have been lured by money and drawn into the network of a Pakistani handler, Jasvir Singh alias Chaudhary. Punjab Police had recovered two hand grenades and five pistols from him.

Notably, the pistol seized from Rocky is similar to the weapons recovered from Ramlal. During preliminary questioning, Rocky admitted that he procured the firearm jointly with Ramlal.

Inspector Prithvipal Singh confirmed that Rocky’s links with the Ludhiana terror module surfaced during interrogation. He will be taken to Ludhiana for further verification. The accused has been booked under the Arms Act.

The Punjab Police operation on November 21, based on intelligence inputs that a Pakistani handler had deployed Ramlal and Deepu to carry out grenade attacks in Punjab and other states, led to the encounter. Intelligence also warned of a possible strike similar to the recent blast in Delhi.

Acting on the input, police laid a trap and moved to apprehend the duo. When ordered to surrender, the accused opened fire. In retaliatory action, one sustained gunshot wounds to the stomach and chest, and the other was shot in the leg. Both were subsequently subdued and arrested.

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