The Punjab Police have sought to discharge an accused, who was nominated as a key operative of an international terror funding network, in the February 2026 killings of two police personnel at a checkpost in Gurdaspur’s Adhian village near the India-Pakistan border.In their challan, Punjab Police stated that no incriminating evidence was found against Sukhjinder and placed his name among the persons discharged from the case, while naming only those who were allegedly involved directly in the crime. (Shutterstock)Assistant sub-inspector Gurnam Singh and home guard constable Ashok Kumar were found shot dead at the Adhian police post, barely 2 km from the international border, on the morning of February 22 this year.Police had concluded the killings were orchestrated by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which allegedly recruited locals to carry out the attack in exchange for money, and invoked multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Initially, the police had arrested three suspects—Dilawar Singh, Inderjit Singh and Ranjit Singh—after registering a case at the Dorgangla police station in Gurdaspur. On February 25, Ranjit was killed in an alleged police encounter near Puranashala village on the Gurdaspur-Mukerian road.Over three months later, police filed the challan on June 8, nominating three persons as accused. Apart from Dilawar and Inderjit, the latter’s brother Sarwan Singh has also been named.During the probe, police had also arrested one Sukhjinder Singh, alias Heera, of Tatale village of the district, who owns a restaurant and an immigration consultancy in Qadian.According to the challan documents, while recording his statement in the presence of a duty magistrate, Sukhjinder described how he came in contact with a foreign-based agent he identified as “AD”. He stated that AD repeatedly called him on his mobile number and instructed him to hand over cash to specific local men who allegedly executed the crime.Over several months, he allegedly said, he paid out roughly ₹8 lakh in instalments— ₹3 lakh, then ₹2 lakh, then another ₹2 lakh, then a final ₹1 lakh—to Ranjit, Inderjit, Dilawar and Sarwan on AD’s direction. The final payment was made after the double murder was executed.Sukhjinder allegedly told the police that AD had explicitly informed him that he had links with “foreign terrorists/smugglers” and was engaged in terror financing. He gave specific mobile numbers, including a foreign contact number that AD had used to coordinate the payments.The police had independently corroborated the final ₹1 lakh payment, made on February 24, 2026, on Railway Road, Batala.However, in their challan, the police stated that no incriminating evidence was found against Sukhjinder and placed his name among the persons discharged from the case, while naming only those who were allegedly involved directly in the crime.When contacted, Gurdaspur SSP Aditya said, “Sukhjinder had no role in the crime. He did not have knowledge of the purpose behind the funds that he supplied to the accused. But after the probe, he has been included as a witness in this case.”Punjab Human Rights Organisation activist-advocate Sarabjit Singh Verka raised questions on the latest development in the case, alleging a bid to hush up the conspiracy angle.The case will next come up for hearing before the Gurdaspur trial court on July 27.