UP ATS foils alleged attack plan on army, police facilities; four held
Lucknow, October 30: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested four suspected youths, including a minor, associated with the banned organization Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN). One of them is a minor. All of them are residents of Punjab. They were planning to attack an army or police establishment.
The Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Law and Order Amitabh Yash said on Friday that the ATS had received information that Gagandeep, Rajat Kumar, Krish, and a minor youth were coming to Lucknow to carry out an attack at the behest of Rana Bhai, an active member of the banned organization SBN. The ATS arrested all four. During interrogation, the accused revealed that they work for Rana Bhai, who is based in Pakistan. They were given the task of killing a military or police officer in Lucknow. They were also asked to make a video of the killing and send it. To accomplish this goal, they arrived in Lucknow on the night of October 29th via Amritsar and Delhi. At Rana Bhai’s behest, they took photos and videos of the Lucknow railway station and sent them to him.
The accused also revealed that they were sent to Lucknow with the assurance that they had sent weapons and ammunition from Pakistan. They would meet someone in Lucknow who would provide them with these weapons and ammunition. They were also sent money for their expenses. They were promised a payment of ₹3 lakh after the targeted killing. After carrying out the targeted killing, they were told to escape the police and go to Nepal for fun.
The ADG stated that the arrested men’s phones contained active WhatsApp accounts with virtual numbers and chats with foreign numbers. A preliminary inspection of their mobile phones revealed numerous suspicious chats, videos, and reconnaissance of sensitive installations and their locations being sent to a Pakistani handler. The arrested accused will be presented before the court as per the rules and further legal proceedings are underway.
