3 Khalistani terrorists, who attacked Punjab cops, killed in UP encounter

Mangalore Today News Network

Lucknow, December 23, 2024: Three terrorists accused of lobbing a grenade at a police post in Punjab’s Gurdaspur have been gunned down in an encounter with police in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, sources have said. The gunfight between the three criminals and a joint team of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab police took place last night. The cops tried to arrest them, but the criminals opened fire. The injured criminals -- Gurwinder Singh, Virendra Singh and Jasanpreet Singh -- died of the injuries, sources have said. Two rifles of the AK series and as many Glock pistols have been recovered from them.

Punjab Police has said the three are part of a Pakistan-sponsored module of Khalistan Zindabad Force. "This terror module is involved in grenade attacks at police establishments in border areas of Punjab. The encounter has taken place in the jurisdiction of PS Puranpur, Pilibhit, between the joint police teams of Pilibhit & Punjab and the three module members are involved in the grenade attack on a police post in Gurdaspur," Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said in a post on X. "Investigations are in progress to unveil the entire terror module," he added.

Uttar Pradesh DGP Prashant Kumar told NDTV described it as a "daredevil" job and a good example of coordination between Uttar Pradesh and Punjab police.

Three police stations in Punjab were targeted within a week and security agencies suspect the role of Khalistani terrorists. While Bangar police post in Gurdaspur was targeted on Friday, a blast occurred at Islamabad police station in Amritsar on Tuesday. A blast had also taken place outside Bakshiwal police post. also in Gurdaspur. No one was injured in these explosions.

An unverified post circulating on social media said terror outfit Khalistan Zindabad Force had claimed responsibility for the blasts.

According to sources, the terrorists had come to Pilibhit -- about 750 km from Gurdaspur -- to find a hideout in the area that has a significant Sikh population. But Uttar Pradesh police have said they got complete support of the locals.