Mumbai: Jatinder Singh alias Jyoti, the Punjab terror conspiracy case accused arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had been living in Maharashtra Nagar, Mankhurd, for the past four years and was working as a crane operator at an ongoing metro construction project. His arrest has raised serious questions about Mumbai’s security and intelligence.
Jatinder is allegedly a key aide of the Khalistani terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), which is known to have links with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim. He was allegedly an arms supplier for terror organisations.
Sources suggest that a crane service provider company based in Navi Mumbai is under investigation for hiring Singh.Initial findings indicate that the private company, which secured the metro project site through a tender in the eastern suburbs, hired several companies for services, and subsequently engaged the Navi Mumbai-based crane service provider.
The company owner of the crane service provider stated in the statement that Singh was recommended by a Granthi(the religious leader) from a Gurudwara in Navi Mumbai. Based on this recommendation, he was hired for one of the cranes. According to sources, Singh had been working on the metro construction site since September of this year.
During his interrogation, Jatinder told NIA officials that he travelled to Navi Mumbai in July-August while he was absconding. He frequently visited a gurdwara in Navi Mumbai, spending considerable time there. During this time, he became acquainted with several people at the gurdwara and grew close to the Granthi. He asked the Granthi for a job and was recommended to the owner of a crane service provider, who also visited the gurdwara. This connection played a part in Singh’s efforts to blend in while evading capture.
According to sources, the Mumbai Police and ATS are investigating how Singh secured shelter in Mankhurd and whether proper verification was conducted before hiring him for the crane operator job. Singh further revealed during interrogation to the officials that at the metro site, he came into contact with local laborers who recommended and provided a reference for his rented house.
Sources have also revealed that Jatinder Singh had been covertly receiving cash payments from key associates of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) while maintaining regular contact with known Khalistani sympathizers in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The ATS, Mumbai Crime Branch, and Navi Mumbai police are actively probing Singh’s network, scrutinizing his associates and connections. Recently, multiple intelligence inputs regarding growing Khalistani activity and suspicious developments in Navi Mumbai were shared by security agencies.
The NIA on Monday confirmed that Jatinder Singh alias Jyoti, a close aide of designated Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa and gangster Bachitar Singh alias Pavitar Batala, was arrested. Jatinder Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur district in Punjab, had been absconding since the arrest of weapons supplier Baljit Singh alias Rana Bhai in July 2024. He has been identified as a key member of a terror gang formed by Landa, who is associated with the banned terrorist organization Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and an aide of Batala, a known associate of Landa.
According to the NIA, Jatinder was instrumental in supplying weapons to on-ground operatives of Landa and Batala in Punjab. He reportedly procured weapons from Baljit Singh, a Madhya Pradesh-based supplier who has already been chargesheeted in the case. Investigations revealed that Jatinder transported ten pistols from Madhya Pradesh to Punjab and delivered them to Landa and Batala’s operatives. He was allegedly planning to smuggle additional weapons but was intercepted due to NIA’s ongoing operations.
Sources have also revealed that the supply route from Madhya Pradesh has come as a surprise to them, as weapon supplies for BKI typically come from Pakistan. The agencies are verifying their footprints in Madhya Pradesh. “The presence of BKI terrorists in Mumbai is alarming, and we have taken serious cognizance of it,” said a senior officer of the Mumbai Police.
