NEW DELHI: Two men suspected of working for an ISI-backed “terror module” were injured in an encounter with Ludhiana Police on Thursday after they allegedly opened fire during a police operation. Officers had laid a trap based on intelligence that a Pakistan-based handler had instructed the duo to exchange grenades at specific locations.Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma said the suspects fired at the police when they were intercepted, prompting retaliatory firing. One man was hit by three bullets, and the other by one. Both were taken to a hospital, where one is reported to be in critical condition.Sharma said the module was being run through virtual numbers by an ISI handler based in Pakistan. “They used to receive calls from a virtual number operating from Pakistan; the handler was from Pakistan’s ISI…In the encounter today, the Pakistan-based handler had tasked these two individuals to exchange grenades at designated spots,” Sharma was quoted as saying by ANI. Police had earlier arrested three others linked to the same module, Arsh from Bihar’s Bhojpur district, Ajay from Haryana’s Fatehabad, and Shamsher from Ludhiana, each assigned different roles.During the operation, police recovered two Chinese-made grenades, five pistols suspected to have been smuggled across the border, and live ammunition. Officials said the two injured suspects had arrived at the location to collect the grenades.
