JALANDHAR, India — Counter Intelligence Jalandhar, working with Counter Intelligence SAS Nagar, nabbed Mahavir alias Kaka and Manpreet alias Mani on Thursday. Both men from SBS Nagar, Punjab, stand accused of carrying out the RDX-based improvised explosive device attack on Nalagarh Police Station. Police recovered a 9mm Glock pistol and live cartridges from their possession.

The blast occurred on January 1. Investigators say the duo acted on orders from foreign-based handlers Gopi Nawashehria and Jassi Kulam, both tied to the banned Babbar Khalsa International group. The suspects procured shipments of IEDs and hand grenades from these overseas contacts. They deployed one such device in the Nalagarh attack.

Six accomplices already sit in custody. Punjab Police arrested them earlier while they collected and delivered the terror hardware. Law enforcement sources confirmed the latest detentions have fully broken the module.

“The entire module has been dismantled,” officials said in a release. Punjab Police pledged to keep targeting terror outfits and organized crime to protect public safety.

In a separate bust, Amritsar Commissionerate Police shut down a cross-border heroin smuggling ring the same day. Officers seized 7.63 kilograms of the drug, along with 21,800 rupees in drug money, and arrested two operatives.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav announced the haul on X. He said preliminary probes point to a Dubai-based handler using virtual numbers to coordinate shipments. The handler supplied pickup spots and distribution chains, according to Yadav.

This figure also connects to broader narcotics operations. Police linked him to an NDPS case with 43 kilograms of heroin recovered. Authorities registered a First Information Report at Chheharta police station in Amritsar under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Investigators now chase the network’s upstream and downstream connections. Yadav stressed the ongoing probe will uncover more links.

Punjab Police operations come amid stepped-up efforts against terrorism and drug trafficking near the Pakistan border. Nalagarh lies roughly 100 kilometers northeast of Chandigarh, in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district. The January blast damaged the station but caused no casualties, police previously reported.

Mahavir and Manpreet face charges under anti-terror laws. Courts remanded them for further questioning. The heroin suspects appeared before a magistrate as well.

These arrests highlight Punjab’s dual fight. Security forces target both armed militants and smugglers fueling violence through narcotics profits.