2 arrested during Advani visit

The two arrested men have been identified as Akram Khan (22) and Kavinder Singh. Kavinder,who is a native of Karnal,has a criminal background and has been out on bail from Ambala Jail for the last three months. Khan is a native of Saharanpur and it is believed that he brought his pistol from there.

The two have told the police that they had purchased the weapons because they had a penchant for keeping arms. According to sources,a team of Punjab Police intelligence officers had also come to probe the ‘Sikh extremist’ affiliation of the two. The team has reportedly given a clean chit to the two in the case.

Based on secret information,the two were arrested at 12.15 am on Thursday while travelling in their car (HR-51-C-6565) from Hallomajra towards Chandigarh. The car was stopped at a police naka near Tribune Chowk.

While Khan,who was driving,had a ‘Made in USA’ pistol and four live cartridges on him,the police recovered a khukri (knife) from Singh. On checking,the police also recovered two swords from the trunk. The two were arrested on the spot and their weapons and car seized. By afternoon,they had been booked under the Arms Act but the confirmation of their plan to attack Advani was not given by the police. In the afternoon,the two were presented in a local court and the police sought five days remand. But the court granted them only one day’s remand.

Speaking to Newsline,UT Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Naunihal Singh said,“Given the kind of sensitivity regarding the Yatra,we were investigating all the possibilities. We have booked the two under the Arms Act and investigations in the case are still underway.”