LUCKNOW: Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Lajar Masih (29), arrested on Thursday for planning blasts at Mahakumbh, has told Uttar Pradesh special task force (STF) that his handlers, including Pakistan’s ISI, had instructed him to flee to Portugal after carrying out the bombings.
“After passing Class 12, Masih worked in the fields, where he came into contact with a local drug mafia. This marked the beginning of his involvement in heroin smuggling and money-making,” STF said. As he gained financial success, he was assigned operational tasks from across the border related to the drug trade.
“During this time, he came in touch with BKI and was gradually radicalized through social media,” STF added.
Pakistan’s ISI lured Masih with the promise of a hefty sum to smuggle arms and ammunition into India via drones from the Pakistan border, which is barely 20 km from his village in Amritsar. The Pakistani spy agency also assured him that they would help him take his girlfriend to foreign countries.
While serving time in jail, Masih was injured in a gang war and was admitted to Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. However, he escaped from there on Sept 24, 2024. Acting on instructions from Swarn Singh, alias Jeevan Fauji, the head of a Germany-based BKI module, Masih shot a man in Punjab’s Batala in an extortion attempt on Oct 23, 2024.
Over the past five months, Masih has carried out grenade attacks on at least five police outposts in Punjab.
Masih was also in frequent contact with terrorist Virendra Singh, alias Ravi, who was killed in a Pilibhit encounter. During his court appearance in Batala, he came into contact with a criminal imprisoned in Muktsar jail, who had two UAPA cases against him in Punjab.
“This individual introduced Masih to an ISI agent in Pakistan, through whom he began smuggling foreign weapons, grenades, and heroin into India via drones. This aligns with mafia don Atiq Ahmed’s claims that ISI uses drones to transport arms and ammunition into India,” a senior STF officer added.
Masih’s parents, originally from Kurliya in Amritsar, converted to Christianity when he was five, hoping for a better life.
Masih further disclosed that he has an associate named Rahul Kaka, a resident of Ajnala, who facilitated his connections with a Khalistani terrorist currently hiding in the US. Another associate of Masih is hiding in Qatar, and both are in direct contact with Khalistani terrorists.
