INVESTIGATIONS INTO the Ranjeet Singh Nita module of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) have led Punjab Police to a Sikh soldier of the British Army who has served in Afghanistan, and is now suspected to be behind the recent grenade attacks on police establishments in Punjab.
Following the killing of three members of the KZF module in Pilibhit, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, in a post on X, identified the British Army soldier as Jagjeet Singh, who goes by the adopted name of Fateh Singh ‘Baagi’.
According to senior police officers, investigations have revealed that Jagjeet Singh comes from a military lineage in India, with roots in Tarn Taran district of Punjab. Several of his relatives, including grandfather, father and brother, have served in the Indian Army.
“While we are clear that Jagjeet Singh was serving with the British Army at one point in time, it is yet to be ascertained from British authorities whether he is still in service or not,” a senior officer told The Indian Express. “Normally, we do not get a positive response from foreign agencies on such inquiries as they tend to deny any involvement of any citizen of theirs who is working in a government establishment.”
DGP Yadav in his post, however, described Jagjeet Singh as “based in the UK and serving in the British Army”.
Sources said Jagjeet Singh went to the UK around 10 years ago on a student visa and completed a degree in software engineering before enlisting in the British Army as a soldier.
“As per our information he completed his basic training and joined the 4th Battalion of The Rifles, an infantry regiment of the British Army. He was soon sent on deployment to Afghanistan where he did a tour of duty with his battalion,” a police officer said.
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The Rifles is a prominent British infantry regiment and was formed by merging four regiments: The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, The Light Infantry, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, and The Royal Green Jackets. It has four regular battalions and three in reserve and the regiment has taken part in military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.
Jagjeet Singh’s grandfather had served in the Indian Army while his father retired as a Subedar. His brother is also learnt to have served in the Sikh Regiment in the Indian Army.
“He completed his studies from the University of East London before joining the British Army. He is an Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh and was allowed to regain symbols of his faith in the British Army,” the police have learnt.
According to police sources, this is the first time that someone with links to the British Army has been found to have been leading a terrorist module against India. “We shall be taking up this matter with the British agencies through our own central agencies and will investigate this further,” a senior officer said.
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The involvement of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI in recruitment of Jagjeet Singh as a terror operative is not being ruled out. “It is a matter of investigation by the British government on whether there are more such individuals in their government services. The ISI is known to keep an eye out in Canadian and British militaries for recruits to the Khalistan cause because Sikhs are present in these forces in large numbers,” a source said.
“While the antecedents of the three men killed in the encounter in Pilibhit are being ascertained, from what we have gathered until now, the Jagjeet Singh-Nita module has been unable to recruit persons who are committed to the ideology of Khalistan. The cut away modules of this group busted before for grenade attacks revealed that petty criminals had been recruited for lobbing grenades on police posts,” a senior officer said.
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