Patiala: An ISI-backed Khalistani terror plot boomeranged when an alleged saboteur was killed while planting an IED on the railway tracks in the dedicated freight corridor in Patiala district late Monday night, police said on Tuesday, adding that four members of the terror module were nabbed within 12 hours.SSP Varun Sharma called it a low-intensity explosion. Police identified the man killed in the blast as Jagroop Singh, 35, a resident of Panjwar village in Tarn Taran district of Punjab. Among the four suspects in custody is Jagroop’s younger brother, Satnam Singh.Security has been heightened at major railway hubs, including Ambala Cantonment, Rajpura, and Patiala. This is the second attack on the freight corridor in Punjab this year after a blast in Jan injured a loco pilot and derailed a goods engine in Sirhind region, barely 35km from Monday’s blast site.Officers said Jagroop was planting the IED near Bathonia village when it detonated prematurely around 9pm, blowing him to pieces and damaging part of the rails. Some body parts were collected at the site even at Tuesday noon, said GRP sources. Investigators seized wires, suspected explosive materials, a damaged mobile phone and SIM card from the blast site.A train ticket found among his belongings suggested Jagroop had travelled from Amritsar to Sirhind by train before making his way to the blast site. CCTV footage shows him parking a motorcycle at Amritsar station and then boarding the train. The bike has been confiscated.“From Sirhind, Jagroop probably travelled by bus to Rajpura or Shambu but no bus ticket was found. The blast spot is 6km from Shambu railway station and around 10km from Rajpura. The blast occurred when the goods train had just passed. The loco pilot felt a jerk,” said GRP SHO Patiala Dilbagh Singh, adding that there was very little damage to the tracks. GRP AIG Amarpreet Singh Ghumman said the train managed to pass safely as the lines were not damaged.Sources say Jagroop, who was married and has two daughters, had campaigned for Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam. Clean-shaven when he worked in Dubai, he adopted Sikh practices late in life and identified himself as a ‘Nihang Singh’.“Jagroop’s body was found in Nihang attire. His links with his brother Satnam were detected through call data recovered from his SIM card, technical evidence and interrogation. Three of four arrested were booked in the past for serious crimes. The funds trail is being investigated,” said SSP Varun Sharma.Police said they were investigating the nature and extent of Jagroop’s links with the terror module. The other suspects were identified as Mansa residents Pardeep Singh Khalsa and Kulwinder Singh alias Bagga and Tarn Taran’s Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi.At a press conference, DIG-Patiala Range Kuldeep Singh Chahal and SSP Sharma said Pardeep was the module’s kingpin, and that he was in close contact with a Malaysia-based pro-Khalistan terrorist as well as Pakistan-based arms suppliers. He formed a radical organisation named ‘Chalda Vaheer Chakarwarti, Attariye’, and is accused of sending radicalised youth to Malaysia for terror training before assigning them missions, said police.A hand grenade, two .30 calibre pistols with ammunition, sophisticated communication devices intended for detonations, and laptops were seized from them. An FIR has been registered at Kotwali Patiala police station for organised crime and offences under Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A separate case was registered under Railways Act at GRP Patiala police station.Police said they are investigating claims of a group taking responsibility for the blast. One aspect of the investigation that has been fast-tracked is to determine whether those arrested were also linked to the Jan explosion and possible network overlaps.An NIA probe is likely, given the scale of the conspiracy and its cross-border dimensions, said police. Security has been reinforced at major railway stations, including Ambala Cantonment, Rajpura and Patiala. Intelligence agencies are on high alert. GRP teams worked swiftly to repair the damaged track and freight movement was restored within a few hours. MSID:: 130582001 413 |
