The Amritsar police on Thursday arrested four young men in possession of plastic explosives and narcotics believed to have been smuggled across the electrified security fence from Pakistan.
Sher Singh, Malkiat Singh, Nirmal Singh and Balwinder Singh were caught in an early morning police raid outside Thakkarpura village near the border township of Patti. The men were in possession of six kilograms of RDX along with 20 detonators, timing devices and about ten metres of fuse wire to be used in improvising bombs.
The police also recovered over two kilograms of pure Afghani heroin amidst the cache of explosives.
The police said preliminary interrogation of the smugglers has revealed the involvement of a fifth accomplice who is already serving sentence at the Jalandhar jail on drug running charges.
“We believe Paramjit Singh alias Pamma is the actual kingpin of this operation and has been instructing the four men arrested on Thursday from his jail cell,” an investigating officer told this newspaper. According to the officer, Sher Singh and the others were awaiting Pamma’s directions on when, where and to whom the RDX was to be delivered. The police believe the consignment was meant for Khalistani outfits trying to revive terrorism in Punjab, and officers are presently questioning the jailed smuggler.