Mumbai: In the Punjab terror conspiracy case, the arrested accused, Jatinder Singh alias Jyoti, was employed as a crane operator at metro construction sites in Delhi and Lucknow before working at a site in Mankhurd. With alleged links to the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Jatinder is accused of supplying arms to terror organisations.
This crucial detail was revealed by Gill Enterprises, the company in Kalamboli that hired Jatinder for the Mankhurd metro site, part of the Line-2B (Yellow Line) project managed by Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd.
Amarjeet Singh, the owner of Gill Enterprises, told the FPJ that there are thousands of labourers at the site, making it difficult to conduct proper background checks. “Nobody verifies the background before hiring. He was introduced to me by a man in Kalamboli, who claimed to be his uncle and a truck driver. I was told he worked at a Delhi Metro site in 2016, for the Lucknow Metro, and the Mumbai Metro in 2008. Based on his claims, I hired him as a crane operator for Rs 27,000 per month. I only checked his Aadhaar card and driving license, which confirmed his identity.”
According to Singh, the contract with Ahluwalia Contracts, which has now been terminated due to this case, included provisions for accommodation near the project site. The company had arranged housing for the workers in Mankhurd, from where Jatinder was arrested. He said there were no complaints about his behaviour, and nobody at the site noticed anything suspicious about him.
Singh also disclosed that his contract with Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd. had been suspended following the arrest. The company had been renting his crane for metro construction projects, with the contract set to conclude in March next year. However, due to the arrest, the manager of Ahluwalia Contracts instructed him to remove his crane from the site. “I asked them how many people working at the site are actually verified,” Singh said. “Just because someone got arrested, I am now facing consequences through no fault of my own. This is going to cost me around Rs 4-5 lakh.”
Sources within the Mumbai Police have stated that they are verifying Jatinder Singh’s profile and, so far, have not found any criminal history linked to him in Mumbai. Officials are also questioning individuals at the metro car shed who were close to Singh or living with him to ensure they are not connected to any of his activities.
Singh was arrested by the NIA on Monday in connection with the Punjab terror conspiracy case involving the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). According to the NIA, Singh was a close associate of designated Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa, and gangster Bachitar Singh, alias Pavitra Batala. He is alleged to have procured weapons from a Madhya Pradesh-based supplier and delivered them to terror operatives in Punjab.
