Amritsar attack: ‘Mastermind had cut-out modus operandi’

Sources claimed that Harmeet Singh got the ‘PhD’ tag attached to his name as he was doing his PhD from a university in the state but could not complete it.

Harmeet Singh ‘PhD’ alias Happy.

HARMEET SINGH ‘PhD’ aka Happy, the alleged handler of the terror module masterminded by the ISI which carried out grenade blast in Adliwala village in Amritsar district,was using a “cut-out modus operandi” to supply arms and ammunition to the radicalised youth in Punjab, say top intelligence officials.

An officer said the similarity in the modus operandi was apparent in two modules, one which carried out the Adliwala grenade attack and in another module busted earlier this month where a man Shabnamdeep Singh was arrested from Patiala and a pistol, a hand grenade, CT 100 Bajaj Platinum black motorcycle and letter pads belonging to ‘Khalistan Gadar Force’ and other banned terrorist organisations were recovered from him.

Police also links Shabnamdeep module with Sikhs for Justice as SFJ’s alleged plan to “spread mayhem in Punjab by exploiting the gullible youth”, a charge SFJ denies.

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Police are now hunting for the “supplier or suppliers” of the ammunition in Punjab, particularly the grenades which are said to have similar Pakistani markings in both cases and which were collected by the two modules from places informed to them by the handler.

In Amritsar module, the grenade was collected from near a tree and in Shabnamdeep case, an officer said, it was collected from a place adjoining a grand trunk road.

“This is cut-out modus operandi by Harmeet Singh,” said a senior officer, adding that Harmeet was also tech-savvy and well conversant with information technology and use of apps.

Sources claimed that Harmeet Singh got the ‘PhD’ tag attached to his name as he was doing his PhD from a university in the state but could not complete it. At that time, nearly 10 years ago, Happy, among others, was named in a case of recovery of five AK-56 rifles, 11 pistols, 25 kilograms of heroin and Rs 21.5 lakh in fake currency.

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Harmeet, however, managed to evade arrest. Police sources said he came in contact with Harminder Singh Mintoo, who helped him flee to Malaysia. Later, Harmeet reached Pakistan and is alleged to have been operating from there with the help of ISI. After the death of Khalistan Liberation Force chief Harminder Singh Mintoo in Patiala jail in April this year, Harmeet is said to have taken over as chief of KLF. “Mintoo was sharp, but Harmeet is sharper then him. In today’s date, he is the biggest challenge before us,” said a Punjab police officer.

Harmeet’s name also figured in a number of targeted killings cases allegedly masterminded by another Khalistani activist Gursharanbir Singh, a UK national. Harmeet is among the accused against whom National Investigation Agency has filed chargesheet in the courts in targeted killing cases that it is probing.

Police said Harmeet is in his mid-30s and originally hailed from a locality in Chheharta in Amritsar.

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