The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a supplementary chargesheet against three associates of designated Babbar Khalsa International terrorist Harwinder Rinda in connection with the seizure of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), along with arms and ammunition at Haryana’s Bastara Toll Plaza in May last year, the agency said.

Those named in the charge sheet are identified as Akash alias Akashdeep, Sukhbeer Singh alias Jashan and Jarmalpreet Singh. “The accused are said to be the close associates of ‘designated terrorist’ Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, who has joined hands with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a banned terrorist organisation,” the NIA said in a statement on Tuesday.

The NIA said, three IEDs, one pistol with two magazines, 31 rounds of ammunition, and Rs 1.30 lakh were recovered from the possession of Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, Amandeep Singh alias Deepa, Parminder Singh alias Pinder, and Bhupinder Singh, when they were on their way to Adilabad in Telangana to deliver the consignment of terror hardware, on directions of Harwinder Rinda and were intercepted by the Police at Bastara Toll Plaza in Madhuban on May 5 last year.

The accused persons were traveling in an Innova car, which had been modified to keep these IEDs, pistols, and ammunition in a specially designed cavity said the Central agency.

The NIA took over the case on May 24, 2022, from Haryana Police and filed the first chargesheet against six accused persons including Harwinder Rinda on October 31, 2022.

Initially, the case was registered at Madhuban Police Station in Haryana.

In its supplementary chargesheet filed before the Special Court in Panchkula on Monday, the NIA has charged accused persons– Akash, Sukhbir alias Jashan, and Jarmalpreet, under section 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code, sections 13, 18, 20 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act and sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Explosives Substances Act.

“Investigations into the case have revealed that Akash alias Akashdeep, Sukhbeer alias Jashan and Jarmalpreet Singh were in touch with terrorist Harwinder Rinda and are close associates of the persons arrested at Bastara Toll Plaza,” said the NIA.

“They had also retrieved the consignment of arms, ammunition, and explosives sent by Harwinder Rinda from across the border via drones. Rinda had sent these consignments to carry out terror attacks in the country in the name of BKI.”