Officers who exposed the terror module also seized a huge cache of arms including five AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

The Punjab Police has exposed a terrorist module of the revived Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), backed by a Pakistan and Germany based terror group that was conspiring to unleash a series of terror strikes in Punjab and other adjoining states.

Officers who exposed the terror module also seized a huge cache of arms including five AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades.

Initial investigations revealed the use of drones to deliver weapons and communication hardware across the border.

Following the development, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has decided to transfer the case to NIA for further investigation.

"Module was conspiring to unleash series of terror strikes in Punjab and/or adjoining states. Police seized huge cache of arms including 5 AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades. Further investigations in the case handed over to NIA," said a statement released by the Punjab CMO.

Punjab CM also urged the central government to direct the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Border Security Force (BSF) to launch necessary counter-measures to check for any possible threats.

The IAF and BSF have already launched counter-measures to check any further threat from drones to the border state of Punjab.

DGP Dinkar Gupta said the weapons may have been delivered recently across the Indo-Pak border from Pakistan using drones launched by the Pak ISI, and the state-sponsored Jihadi and pro-Khalistani terrorist outfits working under its command.

Gupta said the large-scale infiltration appears to have been aimed at scaling terrorism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and the Indian hinterland, in the wake of the recent developments in the Kashmir.

He disclosed that the operation was based on different inputs gathered from sources that activists of the banned KZF planned to carry out multiple terrorist strikes in J&K, Punjab and other States.

In an operation carried out by Ketan Baliram Patil, AIG/Counter Intelligence, Amritsar along with various Punjab Police teams based in Chandigarh, four members of the terror module have been arrested and a large quantity of arms, ammunition, explosives and communication devices, has been seized by the Counter Intelligence Wing of Punjab Police.

The 4 members of the terrorist module were arrested from the outskirts of village Chohla Sahib, PS Chola Sahib, Distt. Tarn Taran on Sunday. They were using white-colored Maruti Swift car no. PB 65 X 8042

Disclosing this here on Sunday, DGP Dinkar Gupta said the module was backed by Pakistan-based chief of KZF, Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta, and his Germany-based associate Gurmeet Singh alias Bagga and Doctor, who had re-organized their terrorist group to revive terrorism in Punjab.

With the help of local sleeper cells, they had spotted, radicalised and recruited local members, besides arranging funds and sophisticated weapons from across the border for operationalising the local module members.

Those arrested have been identified as Balwant Singh alias Baba and Nihang, Akashdeep Singh alias Akash Randhawa, Harbhajan Singh, and Balbir Singh. Both Akashdeep and Baba Balwant Singh have a criminal past with multiple criminal cases against them.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that Maan Singh, currently lodged in Amritsar Jail in an Arms Act and UAPA case, at the behest of his handler Gurmeet Singh, had recruited Akashdeep Singh when they were lodged together in Amritsar jail.

Recipient of the consignment, Baba Balwant Singh is a member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist organization, and was earlier arrested in a UAPA and Arms Act case in PS Mukandpur (SBS Nagar), and is presently on bail and facing trial in that case.