3 'Khalistani militants' remanded in police custody for ten days by Kiarana court

Three suspected Khalistani militants arrested for allegedly looting rifles from a police post in Shamli district early this month were remanded in police custody Thursday for ten days by a court at Kairana near here.

Judicial Magistrate Mukta Tyagi entrusted the custody of the three alleged Khalistan Liberation Front militants - Amrat Singh, Gurjan and Karan Singh to the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad on a plea by the investigating agency that they have to be taken to various places in Punjab for a deeper probe into their terror links and activities.

The counsel for UPATS also submitted to the court that the trio confessed during their interrogation that they were planning to attack former Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and it needed to probed thoroughly.

Additionally, they also have to be interrogated about the whereabouts of the two of their absconding accomplices involved in looting the rifles and ammunition from a police check post from Jhinjhana police station area in the district, the counsel said.

On the prosecution counsel plea, the court remanded the trio in police custody till October 28.

Talking of the confessions made by the three, Jhinjana Circle Officer Rajesh Kumar Tiwari told PTI that the "militants" have to be taken to various places in Punjab, including Amritsar and Ludhiana for a through probe into the matter.

The trio were arrested Sunday after an encounter with the police and the two rifles and ammunition that they had looted from Kamalpur Police checkpost in Shamli after attacking policemen and injuring two of them, were later recovered from a gurdwara at their instance.

The Uttar Pradesh Police announced an award of Rs 50,000 for the police team which arrested the accused.