Babbar Khalsa terrorist with ISI links who escaped from custody last year nabbed in UP-Punjab Police joint operation

Lajar Masih, an active terrorist of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) who allegedly has links to Pakistan's ISI and escaped judicial custody in Punjab last year, has been arrested in a joint operation conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force and Punjab Police, officials said on Thursday.

Additional Director General of Police (UP Special Task Force, Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said the joint forces arrested the terrorist from Kaushambi district of UP in the early hours of Thursday. 

The apprehended terrorist has been kept at Kokhraj police station in Kaushambi district of Uttar Pradesh, reported ANI.

Amitabh Yash said the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force and Punjab Police nabbed the suspected terrorist in an operation carried out at around 3:20 am on Thursday in the Kokhraj police station area of Kaushambi.

Who is Lajar Masih?

According to the police, Lajar Masih is a resident of Kurlian village in the Ramdas area of Amritsar.

“As per available information, the arrested terrorist works for Swarn Singh alias Jeevan Fauji, the head of the Germany-based module of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and is in direct touch with Pakistan-based ISI operatives,” Amitabh Yash said.

The ADG also revealed that Masih had escaped judicial custody in Punjab last year.

“This terrorist had escaped from judicial custody in Punjab on September 24, 2024,” he said.

Heavy arms recovered

ADG Yash revealed that the UP STF recovered some explosive material and illegal arms from the terrorist, Lajar Masih.

Among the seizures made were three active hand grenades, two active detonators, one foreign-made pistol and 13 cartridges of foreign make, the officer said.

Other than this, a white-coloured explosive powder, an Aadhaar card with a Ghaziabad address, and one mobile phone without a SIM card were also seized from his possession, he said.

BKI module busted in Punjab

Earlier in February, the Punjab police busted a terror module that was behind the attacks in Batala City, apprehending two operatives.

“In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police busts a terror module backed by Babbar Khalsa International (#BKI) - Inter-Services Intelligence (#ISI-#Pakistan) responsible for attacks in #Batala and solves the attack cases in Jaintipur & Raimal carried out on Jan 15, 2025 & Feb 17, 2025 respectively,” Director General of Police, Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, said in an X post.

The two operatives were identified as Mohit and Vishal.