Grenades seized in migrant firing case, UAPA invoked

Bathinda: Punjab Police on Tuesday said they had invoked provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Feb 10 firing on migrant workers in Moga after recovering two China-made hand grenades and alleging the attack was meant to spread terror among labourers.The third accused, Shahbir Singh, was brought on a production warrant from Yamunanagar police in Haryana to Moga on Monday. Following his questioning, police seized two hand grenades, Faridkot Range IG Nilambari Jagadale said during a media interaction. She was accompanied by Moga SSP Ajay Gandhi and SP (Investigation) Bal Krishan Singla.
The IG said the explosives were China-made P86 high explosive-fragmentation (HE-Frag) hand grenades. Sections of the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) have been added to the FIR registered on Feb 10.She added that investigations revealed the shooters' alleged aim was to create terror among migrant workers in Punjab, following which UAPA provisions were invoked.Earlier, two other accused — Jobanpreet Singh and Akashdeep Singh — were arrested after an encounter near Ghal Kalan village on Feb 15. Both sustained injuries during the exchange of fire. Police have also arrested five family members of the three main accused for allegedly providing shelter and logistical support.Two others were arrested from Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly supplying weapons.Two mill workers from Uttar Pradesh, Ashok Kumar and Subodh, were injured in the Feb 10 incident when bike-borne assailants opened fire at a group of around 10 workers and filmed the attack. The video was later uploaded on Instagram.The IG said Shahbir had been arrested in an extortion case in Yamunanagar. Police there informed their Moga counterparts after learning he was wanted in the firing case.Based on his disclosure, police recovered the grenades from Bhangali Naraingarh village in Ferozepur. Officials suspect they were smuggled from across the border.Among the family members arrested are Jobanpreet's brother Harmanjot Singh and mother Inderjit Kaur, Shahbir's father Harjit Singh, and Akashdeep's mother Parveen Kaur and sister Sandeep Kaur. Police said they were aware of the crime but did not inform authorities.Three more accused — Lakhwinder Singh, Sukhveer Singh and Shubhneet Singh — have been arrested for their alleged role in the conspiracy.The IG and SSP said backward and forward linkages were being probed to trace the source of the grenades and weapons and to establish how the shooters came into contact with the two accused arrested from Jammu and Kashmir.