Amarinder urges Centre to alert IAF, BSF about 'drones' supplying arms from across border

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday urged the Centre to alert the Air Force and the Border Security Force about the possibility of drones being used to supply weapons from across the border.

The development comes hours after the Punjab police had claimed to have busted a terror module of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), backed by a group based in Pakistan and Germany. It said the terror group was conspiring to unleash a series of strikes in Punjab and adjoining states.

With the initial investigation revealing the use of drones to deliver weapons and communication hardware from across the border, the chief minister has urged the Centre to direct the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the BSF to launch necessary counter-measures, an official spokesperson said.

Given the international links and ramifications of the conspiracy, Singh has decided to hand over further investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the spokesperson said.

Four people were arrested from the outskirts of Chohla Sahib village in Tarn Taran district on Sunday. A huge cache of arms, including five AK-47 rifles, pistols, satellite phones and hand grenades was seized from them, according to the police.

According to Dinkar Gupta, the weapons were suspected to have been delivered recently from across the border by the ISI, state-sponsored jihadi and pro-Khalistani terrorist outfits working under its command.

"The large-scale infiltration appeared 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 Valley," Gupta said in a statement.