LUCKNOW, Oct. 31 -- The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested three youths belonging to Punjab and taken a juvenile into custody for allegedly conspiring with a Pakistan-based handler of the banned Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) to carry out a targeted killing of a police or Army personnel in Lucknow, Additional director general of police (law and order) Amitabh Yash said on Friday. He said all four were apprehended in the state capital on Thursday. The accused were allegedly promised Rs.3 lakh for executing the attack and instructed to film the killing and send its video to their Pakistani handler, identified as Rana Bhai. The ATS recovered a foreign-made pistol and 20 foreign-made cartridges from their possession. Yash said the mobile phones seized from the accused contained chats on social media accounts and messaging applications, which are being examined to establish their links with the Pakistani handler and other members of the network. Preliminary interrogation indicated that the accused were acting on Rana Bhai's instructions to target a police or Army personnel in Lucknow. He said the firearms and ammunition had been provided to the accused in Lucknow through a person linked to the network. During interrogation, the arrested persons confirmed that the weapons and ammunition had been supplied from Pakistan. The ATS is now trying to identify the local contact and establish the complete weapons supply chain. The ADG said the accused had also planned to flee to Nepal after executing the assignment in Lucknow. The ATS will seek their police custody remand to question them further about the network, its local associates and the financial transactions used to fund the operation. The arrested accused have been identified as Gagandeep Singh, 26, of Mehta Pind in Amritsar; Rajat Kumar, 19, of Himmatpura locality in Amritsar; and Krish, 21, a resident of Dera Baba area in Gurdaspur. The identity of the juvenile has been withheld. According to the ATS, intelligence inputs indicated that youths from Punjab associated with the banned network were planning an attack on a police or military establishment in India. Further investigation revealed that the suspects were travelling to Lucknow on Rana Bhai's instructions. During preliminary interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed that they communicated with the Pakistani handler through Instagram and WhatsApp. They were instructed to kill a police or Army personnel, record the attack and send him the video as proof of execution. The accused reportedly left Amritsar on October 27, travelled through Delhi and reached Lucknow around midnight on October 29. On reaching the city, they allegedly recorded a video of Lucknow railway station and sent it to Rana Bhai on his instructions. According to the ATS, the handler had transferred Rs.2,585 towards their travel expenses and sent another Rs.2,500 twice over two days for their stay and other expenses. He had allegedly promised them Rs.3 lakh after completion of the targeted killing and instructed them to escape to Nepal to evade arrest. A preliminary examination of their mobile phones also revealed suspicious conversations, videos and WhatsApp accounts activated through virtual numbers linked to foreign numbers. Investigators found material suggesting that sensitive establishments had been surveyed and their videos and location details shared with the Pakistani handler. The ATS has registered an FIR at its Lucknow police station under Sections 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 3/25 of the Arms Act and Sections 18 and 38 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The agency is pursuing further investigation to identify other persons involved in the conspiracy, establish the role of local associates, trace the weapons supply network and examine the financial trail. Investigators are also examining whether the network had assigned similar tasks or conducted reconnaissance of other sensitive installations. Photo caption: Pictures of three accused...