Chandigarh, Nov 8 : In a major breakthrough, Punjab Police have arrested two people involved in the murder of Italy-based Malkit Singh in Amritsar and recovered five sophisticated weapons from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

Those arrested have been identified as Bikramjit Singh, alias Bikram, and Karanbir Singh. The recovered weapons include one foreign-made .30 caliber PX5 pistol, one .30 caliber pistol, one foreign-made .45 caliber pistol, one .32 caliber pistol and one revolver along with 20 cartridges from their possession.

As per the information, two people opened fire at victim Malkit Singh, when he was sowing wheat in Dhariwal village along with his father on November 1.

Malkit Singh succumbed to his wounds in a hospital.

DGP Yadav said accused Bikramjit Singh is associated with the terrorist organisation Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and has a criminal history.

He was also involved in the 2018 grenade attack on a religious place at Raja Sansi.

The DGP said preliminary investigation revealed that on the directions of his foreign-handlers accused Bikramjit had procured illegal weapons from across the border to carry out crimes in the state.

Sharing operational details, DIG (Border Range) Sandeep Goel said acting on inputs, police teams from Amritsar Rural under the overall supervision of SSP Maninder Singh arrested Bikramjit. On his disclosure, another accused Karanbir was arrested.

The DIG said with arrest of these two operatives of KLF, Punjab Police has thwarted sensational crimes in the state.

Earlier, on October 31, DGP Gaurav Yadav said that Punjab Police apprehended three operatives of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) for writing pro-Khalistan slogans on walls of schools in Punjab.

New York-based SFJ is backed by mastermind Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen designated a terrorist by the Indian government. Those arrested have been identified as Navjot Singh, alias Jota (24), and Gurpreet Singh (26), both residents of Kaliaewala village in Ferozepur; and Harjinder Singh, a resident of Mananwala in Bathinda.

The Police have also recovered four mobile phones and one dongle device from their possession.

As per information, Pro-Khalistani slogans were found written on the walls of two schools, including a school at Mananwala village on the intervening night of October 19 and 20.

DGP Yadav said preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused painted inflammatory slogans aimed at inciting public unrest and promoting anti-national sentiments.

Evidence indicates they were receiving foreign funding for these unlawful activities, he said.

/IANS