Five operatives of Canada-based terrorist Arsh Dalla arrested: Delhi Police

Five operatives of designated terrorists Arshdeep Dalla have been arrested and highly sophisticated weapons and hand grenades were recovered from their possession, Delhi Police said on Monday.

The arrested operatives or sharpshooters of the Canada-based terrorist Dalla, who himself is an operative of the outlawed Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), have been identified as Rajpreet Singh alias Bomb, Virender Singh alias Vimmy, Sachin Bhati, Arpit, and Susheel Pradhan.

According to police, Rajpreet alias Bomb and Vimmy were arrested on Sunday from the Mayur Vihar area of the national capital after an exchange of fire.

There was a tip-off that the duo would come on a bike at Noida Link Road towards Akshardham temple opposite Samachar Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Delhi, at around 11 pm, to collect money and illegal weapons in order to commit some heinous crime, they added.

A team of police was deployed in the Mayur Vihar area and spotted the accused coming by bike.

"They fired indiscriminately upon the police personnel in an attempt to escape while we tried to intercept them," Delhi police said, adding that in self-defence police also fired upon the accused.

"Two rounds hit the bulletproof jackets of police personnel. In self-defence and in order to stop the accused from escaping, the police team also fired upon the accused persons, and during this exchange of fire, the accused, namely Vimmi, sustained a gunshot injury to his right leg. Six rounds were fired by the police, while five rounds were fired by the accused persons. The injured person was sent to the hospital for treatment," Delhi Police added.

They said that after the arrest, accordingly, a case was registered and further, on the basis of the disclosures of the accused persons, three more persons-- Sachin, Arpit, and Pradhan, who were providing logistics to the gang of Arshdeep Singh were arrested.

According to Punjab Police, Canada-based Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dalla is a notorious gangster-turned-terrorist involved in various criminal activities in Punjab and abroad and is one of its most wanted names. He is an operative of the KTF, which is a banned terrorist organisation. In 2020, he fled to Canada after allegedly killing one of his associates, Sukkha Lamme.

Sitting in Canada, he allegedly runs a network of gangsters involved in extortion, killings and other terror crimes in Punjab. He has associates based out in Manila, Malaysia, Canada and Pakistan, it is further alleged.

Delhi Police further said that it was revealed that these operatives were given the task by Arsh Dalla to extort money from Kavinder Chaudhary, a local BJP leader.

"It was also revealed that they are residing in Delhi/NCR, to carry out terror strikes and target killings. While developing the input, it was further revealed that, under the direction of Dalla, they have procured sophisticated weapons and ammunition with explosives," Delhi Police said.

"Preliminary interrogation revealed that both Raja and Vimmi are sharpshooters of the terrorist of KTF Arsh Dalla. The accused persons were in regular contact with him, and on his behest, they were planning to carry out some major terror strikes and target killings in Delhi-NCR," they said.

Delhi Police added that among them, Arsh Dalla tasked Raja to assassinate a singer, namely Elly Mangat, which they attempted in October 2023 at Bhatinda but failed as the target was not found at home.

An investigation into this matter is underway. Further details are awaited.