Bathinda: Police have arrested two persons in connection with the June 22 petrol bomb attack at a BJP functionary’s homeopathy clinic in Bathinda, and are now treating the case as a terrorist act.Bathinda Range DIG Harjit Singh, SSP Jyoti Yadav and counter-intelligence AIG Avneet Kaur Sidhu told the media on Thursday that section 113 of the BNS (terrorist act) has been added. Police have also nominated Shahzad Bhatti, a terrorist based in Pakistan, in the case. Hours after the attack, the clinic owner’s wife had received a threat call from a man identifying himself as Bhatti. Police identified the two arrested youths as Nakul (21) and Gurwinder Singh (22), both daily wagers and school dropouts from Khuia Sarwar village in Fazilka district. They were picked up from the Abohar area on June 24 after police tracked an auto driver who dropped them at the railway station. According to police, the two confessed that their village mate, Sandeep, hired them for money. Sandeep was allegedly in direct contact with Bhatti. Sandeep is on the run. The two accused had arrived in Bathinda on June 22, conducted a recce for seven hours, hurled the bomb and escaped by train, according to police. While being brought to Bathinda, the accused tried to escape by jumping from the police vehicle under the pretext of answering nature’s call. Both sustained injuries and were treated at the civil hospital. Their phones have been sent for forensic examination to trace the financial trail and establish the exact motive.
