Rajasthan Police are investigating whether a Sriganganagar arms haul containing nearly 7kg of suspected RDX, two Turkish-made handguns and more than 600 cartridges was intended for an attack on a police facility in Punjab. The consignment was recovered near Rawla on Tuesday after a drone allegedly made three sorties in the border area, while two Punjab-based men have been arrested for allegedly receiving it.
The Anti-Narcotics Task Force recovered the explosives and weapons from the area, according to officials cited by the Times of India. A bomb disposal squad from Jaipur disposed of the material in two controlled detonations on Wednesday after first neutralising a large detonator found alongside the suspected RDX.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of CID ASP Diksha Kamra. Police enforced a 100-metre exclusion zone around the site during the disposal process. The blasts created a crater nearly five feet deep, according to the report.
Official sources identified the recovered explosive material as black RDX and said it was in an active state. Investigators also recovered a remote and connectors, raising concerns that the material may have been configured for remote activation. Forensic samples were collected before the remaining explosives were destroyed.
The arrested men have been identified as Sukhwinder Singh and Lakhwinder Singh, both 19. Police allege that they had been living in Rajasthan as labourers and farmers for about a month and had conducted reconnaissance in villages around Rawla. Investigators are examining their alleged communication with a handler through a social media application.
According to the report, investigators suspect that the men received drone-dropped consignments containing weapons and explosives from Pakistan on three occasions. Police are also examining their possible links to criminal cases in Punjab. Sukhwinder is suspected of involvement in a grenade attack on a police station in Punjab that injured several police personnel, although the investigation has not yet established whether the Sriganganagar consignment was connected to that incident.
Both men had previously spent time in juvenile correctional homes in separate cases, the report said. Police are now working to establish who controlled the alleged supply network, where the recovered weapons and explosives were meant to be taken, and whether any planned attack was associated with the consignment.
The recovery has also highlighted the operational risks posed by explosive material being delivered into rural border settlements. In this case, authorities had to secure the surrounding area, collect forensic samples and destroy the material at the recovery site. The investigation into the alleged drone drops, the suspected handler and the Punjab connection is continuing.
