Chandigarh: Punjab police on Tuesday held that the low-intensity blast reported late Monday night between Shambhu and Rajpura villages in Patiala district, was a detonation attempt by the accused who died in the explosion.
The blast which prompted a major response from the police and security agencies rushed to the spot and found the rail track had suffered damage and during its investigation also found a mutilated body near the blast site. The police also found two motorcycles and a damaged mobile phone. The deceased, who reportedly got killed while trying to detonate the device. He was later identified as Jagroop Singh, reportedly a supporter of pro-Khalistan radical Sikh leader and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
4 HELD WITH HAND GRENADE, 2 PISTOLS
Meanwhile, the police also claimed to have cracked the said attempted detonation at Patiala railway track with the arrest of four highly radicalised habitual criminals and recovered a heavy quantity of militant hardware from their possession.
Those arrested were identified as Pardeep Singh Khalsa of Mansa, Kulwinder Singh, both of Mansa, Satnam Singh and Gurpreet Singh of Tarn Taran.
The recovered ammunition includes one Hand grenade, two .30 bore pistols and laptops, with which they used to communicate with their handlers. Police said that the accused Pardeep Singh Khalsa was the main kingpin of the module and was in close proximity with Malaysia based Pro-Khalistani terrorists as well as in close contact with Pakistan based arms suppliers.
Also Watch:
OPPN SLAMS AAP GOVT
Meanwhile, the blast triggered a political slugfest with the opposition parties slamming the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government.
The state Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said on X: ``…. The hard earned peace is at stake in Punjab. With the Aam Aadmi Party government already preoccupied to ensure its survival, it is obvious that the saboteurs and criminals are exploiting the situation. We have been repeatedly cautioning and warning the government against the deteriorating law and order situation...’’.
