Chandigarh, April 18 (IANS) Punjab Police have solved the hand-grenade attack at Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) office in Nawanshahr by busting a major Pakistan-based terror module run by Harvinder Singh, alias Rinda, with the arrest of its three operatives, said Director General of Police V.K. Bhawra here on Monday.
Some persons on the night of November 7 and 8, 2021, had hurled a hand grenade with the intention to kill police officials. However, the officials present there had escaped unhurt.
Those arrested have been identified as Manish Kumar, a resident of village Bains in Nawanshahr, Ramandeep Singh of Jalandhar district and Pardeep Singh in SBS Nagar district. The police have also recovered one hand grenade from their possession.
Bhawra said after extensive and sustained investigation, the Counter Intelligence wing and the SBS Nagar police have arrested three accused.
During interrogation, Ramandeep confessed that he along with Manish had thrown the hand grenade on the directions of Harvinder Singh, said the DGP, while adding that Ramandeep had picked-up two hand grenades from the Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road as guided by Rinda.
Sandeep Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SBS Nagar, said while one han grenade was used for the attack in Nawanshahr, another P-80 hand grenade, similar to the one used to carry out the attack, was recovered on the disclosure of Ramandeep. Harvinder struck a deal with Ramandeep for Rs 4 lakh to carry out this attack, he added.
Harvinder Singh, a notorious gangster active in Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra and Haryana, is a history-sheeter and wanted by Punjab Police in heinous crimes, including murder, contract killing, robbery, extortion and snatching.
The activists of Punjab Congress will walk towards Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh if Priyanka Gandhi is not released and the Union Minister's son accused of murder not arrested, said state party President Navjot Sidhu on Tuesday.
Referring to police action against protesting farmers in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, the BJP leader said, "Congress leaders who are very keen to visit Lakhimpur Kheri have not uttered a single word against police lathicharge on farmers in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan."
Comparisons are on in social media whether this arrest could change the Congress fortunes as after Indira Gandhi's arrest and later in the election in 1980 the Congress returned with a thumping majority.
During the 45-minute long meeting with the Home Minister, Channi also discussed the security situation of the state and demanded that the border must be sealed properly to effectively prevent the smuggling of weapons from Pakistan.
It is the largest agricultural protest to take place in India and others from around the world have also joined in, tens of thousands of farmers have camped for months on major highways to New Delhi to oppose the three laws.
