BKI man held for Batala grenade attack

The special cell of the Delhi Police has arrested a 22-year-old key operative of the banned terrorist outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, who was allegedly involved in the grenade attack on Quila Lal Singh police station in Punjab’s Batala district earlier this year. The accused was identified as Akashdeep Singh, alias Bazz.

Singh, a resident of Chananke village in Amritsar, Punjab, was picked up on July 22 by a team of the special cell and placed under arrest under the Arms Act in a case registered by the Delhi Police special cell.

According to the police, Singh was working as a crane operator at a construction site in Indore at the time of his arrest. Preliminary interrogation revealed that he was in contact with a handler associated with the BKI who is currently operating from abroad. Communications and coordination for terror-related activities were reportedly carried out through social media platforms.

In April 2025, a grenade was hurled at the Quila Lal Singh police station in Batala, Gurdaspur. Following the attack, a post claiming responsibility surfaced on social media, allegedly uploaded by Happy Passiya, Mannu Agwan, and Gopi Nawanshahria — known BKI operatives — who also issued threats to Delhi.

Upon receiving intelligence about Singh’s involvement in both the arms supply case and the Batala police station attack, the Delhi Police intensified surveillance to locate him. Initial leads pointed to his presence in Gujarat, but further investigation tracked him to Indore.

“His arrest is a major step forward in cracking down on BKI modules operating within the country. We are further probing the network and his linkages,” said Amit Kaushik, DCP, Special Cell.

Cell to monitor Khalistani terror activites on Internet

In order to monitor and tackle online terror-related activities of Khalistani extremists, the Delhi Police have constituted an ‘Operation cell’ under its Special Cell unit, a senior police officer told The Tribune.

“The newly formed cell will keep a strict vigilance on activities carried out by Khalista- related outfits from abroad, including Pakistan and Canada, among other countries,” DCP (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik told The Tribune. The cell will also keep track on activities of gangsters sitting abroad who use social media to recruit gullible people from India.

Punjab