Punjab has been put on high alert after intelligence agencies informed various security agencies that dreaded Al-Qaeda terrorist Zakir Musa has been spotted as a Sikh local wearing a turban near Ferozepur or Bathinda.

According to reports, the areas surrounding Bathinda and Ferozepur have been put under severe vigilance and army personnel have been deployed at the Bathinda Railway Station. The Punjab Police has sealed the Punjab and Rajasthan border besides placing barricades at various places to nab the former Hizbul commander.

The intelligence input said that Zakir Musa may have disguised himself as a Sikh to escape the security agencies. Meanwhile, the state police have arrested a suspected terrorist from Mamdot area and is being interrogated.

According to security agencies, a Pakistan phone number was traced at Basti Gulab Singh Wala village in Mamdot area of Ferozepur. Police had raided some houses in this village on Tuesday night after a mobile phone SIM card was found active in the area.

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The Ferozepur police soon after receiving the information launched a massive combing operation in Mandot area. They have searched the Ghoda Chakkar forest area spreading over hundreds of acres at the Indo-Pak border. Police have sealed the Basti Gulab Singhwala village with barricades and intense checks on the vehicles passing along the roads are being done. The paramilitary forces have also been deployed to conduct the search operation.

Reportedly, Zakir Musa may have been arrived in Punjab not only to save his life from the onslaught of Indian security forces but also to revive Sikh terrorism in Punjab backed by Pakistan’s ISI.

Recently, Zakir Musa, Al Qaeda’s Kashmir cell head who succeeded Burhan Wani had released an audiotape threatening to “liberate” India from the rule of “cow-worshipping” PM Modi and Hindus. Musa, who is a former Hizbul Mujahideen militant, also warned the government warned the government against deporting Rohingya Muslims.