Bathinda: Bathinda police on Friday arrested the alleged mastermind behind the petrol bomb attack at the homeopathy clinic of BJP functionary Dr Tarsem Garg in the Patel Nagar area.The accused has been identified as Sandeep (24), a resident of Khuia Sarwar. Police said he was apprehended on Friday. Earlier, two alleged assailants — Nakul and Gurwinder — who had hurled the petrol bomb into the clinic courtyard, were arrested.Preliminary investigation has revealed that Sandeep was in contact with Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti, who allegedly assigned him the target to attack the residence or office of a BJP leader. Police said Sandeep was in touch with foreign-based handlers through WhatsApp calls and messages and had agreed to execute the plan in exchange for money.Investigators suspect that the conspiracy was aimed at creating disturbances in Punjab. Acting on instructions from abroad, Sandeep allegedly recruited Nakul and Gurwinder to carry out the attack and shared the target location with them. Both were reportedly paid Rs 3,000 each initially.Bathinda Range DIG Harjit Singh confirmed the arrest, stating that the main accused was acting on instructions from foreign-based handlers. “Further investigation is underway and more details are expected to emerge,” he said.The incident occurred on the night of June 22, when two unidentified youths lobbed a petrol bomb at the clinic located near the district RSS office. No injuries were reported in the attack.
