Man held with IED near Indo-Pak border in Amritsar

Amritsar: In a major security breakthrough, the Amritsar (rural) police arrested a youth with an improvised explosive device (IED) near the Indo-Pak international border, foiling what officials said was a terror plot to disrupt peace in Punjab.Senior superintendent of police (Amritsar rural) Suhail Qasim Mir said the accused, identified as Harman Singh of Kumarpura village in Ajnala, was intercepted during routine checking on the Muhail-Bukhari–Panj Goraya road.When signalled to stop, Harman allegedly attempted to flee but was swiftly overpowered by the police team. During a search, cops recovered a suspicious polythene-wrapped packet from the bag he was carrying. The accused reportedly told police that it contained an IED.The bomb disposal squad was immediately alerted. On examination, the device was confirmed to be an IED concealed inside a tiffin box. The squad successfully defused the explosive.SSP Mir said the total weight of the IED, including the tiffin casing, was 534 grams. A PTD switch and a 9-volt battery were also recovered from the accused's bag.During preliminary interrogation, Harman allegedly revealed that the explosive had been dropped by a Pakistani drone near the border and that he had collected it with the task of delivering it to another contact. The police suspect the involvement of Pakistan's ISI in orchestrating the module, aimed at spreading terror and causing large-scale damage in the state.A case has been registered under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act at Ajnala police station. Further investigations are underway to identify and apprehend other members of the network.