Punjab terror attack: 4 groups under the scanner

Chandigarh, July 27: Even as the security battle the militants holed up in the police station at Gurdaspur, there is still no confirmation on who exactly is behind this attack. Intelligence Bureau officials tell OneIndia that the terrorists had come all the way from Pakistan and the attack was an ISI sanctioned one.

Gurdaspur in Punjab has been off the terror radar since 1990. There was no specific alert where Gurdaspur was concerned. However, terrorist outfits from Punjab after being beaten down over a decade back had taken shelter in Pakistan with the help of the ISI. [Live: 6 dead in Punjab terror attack, no hostage situation]

There has been talk about the Punjab militants attempting to revive their movement. There are four groups that are under the scanner and the IB has always said that these are the outfits which are attempting to revive militancy in Punjab.

The Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Zindabad Force, Sikh Youth Federation and the Khalistan Commando Force are considered to be the most active. There was a specific watch being kept on the activities of these groups and the security agencies had said that they would be looking to revive militancy in Punjab.

Babbar Khalsa International: The first unit of the BKI was founded at Canada in 1981. They formed the group with a motive of forming an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. The major incidents by this group involves the mid air explosion of the Air India Flight 182 in 1985, in which 329 persons were killed.

This group also carried out the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. Wadhwa Singh and his deputy Mehal Singh head this group, and both of them figure in India's terror dossier to Pakistan.

International Sikh Youth Federation: The International Sikh Youth Federation or the ISYF came into force after Operation Blue Star. It was founded in the United Kingdom in the year 1984 by Lakhbhir Singh Rhode, the nephew of slain Sikh leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. This group has been accused of being linked directly with the Lashkar-e-Taiba. It has been providing logistic support to the other militant groups and also is alleged to have helped the Lashkar raise funds.

Khalistan Zindabad Force: The Khaslistan Zindabad Force is headed by a top ranking leader, Ranjeet Singh Neeta. Founded in the year 1980, this group always battled security agencies in Punjab. The KZF has also been involved in a number of incidents after Operation Blue Star. The outfit has a majority of Sikhs from Jammu. The ISI will use this outfit to carry out strikes in Delhi and Jammu according to Intelligence Bureau reports.

This group is considered to be dangerous as it specializes in suicide or fidayeen attacks. This group has also set up a specialized unit in Nepal which helps supply the RDX. It was only recently that 20 kilograms of RDX belonging to this group was seized from the Nepal border.

Khalistan Commando Force: Founded by Manbir Singh Chaheru in the year 1986, today the group is headed by one of India's most wanted criminals, Paramjeet Singh Panjwar. This group shot to the limelight after it decided to take on the army post Operation Blue Star.

This is the same group that assassinated General Arun Vaidya who led the Operation Blue Star. The other incident reported was the killing of 50 passengers on a Punjab train. The Khalistan Commando Force was the group behind this incident as well.

OneIndia News