Punjab Police bust BKI terror network aided by Pakistan’s ISI, arrest 5 from Rajasthan

The five operatives were part of the module that was tasked to carry out attacks on the occasion of Independence Day, the Punjab Police said.

Written by Man Aman Singh Chhina

Chandigarh | August 12, 2025 13:17 IST

Weapons recovered from the BKI operatives nabbed by the Punjab Police. (Express Photo)

In a breakthrough, the Punjab Police’s Counter-Intelligence wing in Jalandhar has busted a terror network operated by Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), supported by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in Punjab, the police said on Tuesday.

In the joint operation with the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district police, the Jalandhar police arrested five operatives of the BKI module in Rajasthan that was tasked to carry out attacks on Independence Day, the police said.

The BKI operatives were nabbed from the Tonk and Jaipur districts of Rajasthan after an encounter, and the police averted planned attacks, including one inside a liquor store in SBS Nagar, said Gaurav Yadav, Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab.

The police have recovered one 86P hand grenade, one .30 bore pistol, along with two live cartridges and two empty shells of .30 bore have been recovered from the accused.

“The arrested accused were receiving direct instructions from foreign-based Zeeshan Akhtar & BKI mastermind Mannu Agwan, who is working in close coordination with #Pak based BKI operative Harwinder Rinda,” Yadav said in a post on Tuesday.

One person who opened fire at the police force was injured in the retaliatory action and is admitted in Civil Hospital, SBS Nagar, the police said.

The police have registered a case at City Nawashehar Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Explosive Substances Act.

Punjab Police officials said that Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI has doubled its efforts to create unrest in Punjab after Op Sindoor in May. The officials say that ISI has been trying hard to find new recruits in Punjab and has been targeting military installations. Additionally, gangster outfits, aided and abetted by ISI-managed Khalistani terror networks, have also been tasked to increase their activities in Punjab ahead of Independence Day.

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