'Rinda funded terror ops with extortion money'

Representational images. Pic/iStock

Harvinder Singh Rinda, the Khalistani terrorist whose name cropped up following the 'terror' attack in Mohali city of Punjab, ran extortion racket in Nanded for years and is believed to have used the money to fund terror activities.

Rinda, who is believed to be operating from Pakistan, is also suspected to have supplied explosives to four suspects arrested recently from Karnal city of Haryana.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra suspects that various members of Rinda's sleeper cell is active in the state, especially in the Nanded district, where about 14 extortion and murder cases are registered against him.

Sources in the state police and ATS, who have been keeping a tab on his activities since the past few years, said Rinda originally hails from Tarn Taran district of Punjab. In 1976, his father Charan Singh Sandhu came to Nanded where he worked as a truck driver. The family rented a home at gate number 6, Shahid Pura, near Nanded Gurudwara. In 2008, the family bought that house and has been living there since. His studied at Universal English School in Nanded.

Police records show he sold his farm lands in Punjab between 2004 and 2008, and purchased 4 acres of farm land in Nanded.

In 2008, Rinda and his cousins were arrested by Punjab police in a murder case and the duo were jailed till 2015, when he was released on parole. In 2016, he came to Nanded where he was booked in nearly 14 cases of murder, attempt to murder, theft, robbery and extortion. But he has been untraceable since.

"We have been searching for him for years. Seventeen members of his group are already behind bars. In 2017, we received information from intelligence agencies that he was hiding in Pakistan," a Naded police officer said.

The officer added that a team is in "Punjab to thoroughly investigate them [the four arrested in Karnal terror plot] to collect information about Rinda and his sleeper cell, believed to be active in Maharashtra".

Sources in the Maharashtra home ministry confirmed they will take custody of all four accused--Gurpreet, Amandeep, Parminder and Bhupinder.

Police suspect Rinda supplied RDX in Nanded a few months back and was planning to carry out attacks on Mumbai's local trains.

Extortions in Nanded

Sources in the Maharashtra police said Rinda ran an extortion racket in Nanded, and around 50 people worked for him. "He would send his associates to threaten and extort money from businessmen. He would blackmail them using certain audio recordings," said an officer.

"Our latest input suggest he is still in Pakistan and Inter-Services Intelligence of the country is helping him activate Babbar Khalsa terror sleeper cell in India," the officer added.

Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse-Patil will on Saturday visit Nanded where police will brief him on the matter.