A file image of a Khalistan flag

The NIA on Monday filed a charge sheet against seven alleged Khalistani operatives in connection with a hand grenades seizure case in Amritsar, an official said

Jajbir Singh Samra, Varinder Singh Chahal, Kulbir Singh, Manjit Kaur, Taranbir Singh, Kulwinderjit Singh, an operative of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and Harmeet Singh, a Pakistan-based self-styled chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) have been named in the charge sheet filed before a special NIA court in Mohali.

They have been charged with sections of the Explosive Substances Act and the UA (P) Act, the official said.

The case, filed in June 2019, pertains to the seizure of two hand grenades and a mobile phone from a bag recovered by the Punjab Police which was thrown by two unknown bike-borne assailants at a bus stop in rural Amritsar when they were stopped by the police during a regular checking.

The NIA took over the case and began investigation, the official said.

Jajbir and Varinder were part of a narco-terror module involved in distributing the heroin smuggled from Pakistan in order to channelize the proceeds of drugs to various terrorist entities on the directions of Pakistan-based terrorist Harmeet Singh, the NIA official said.

They also picked up grenades and concealed them at a pre-decided location for carrying out terrorist act to further the conspiracy hatched by Harmeet and Kulwinderjit, the official said.

Kulbir, Manjit and Taranbir had harboured and provided logistics support, including accommodation, business VISA for Kulwinderjit in Cambodia and Malaysia when he had escaped from India, the NIA official said, adding that further investigation in the case continues.