Mohali RPG attack: Punjab Police zero in on two gangsters from Haryana, UP
Duo from Jhajjar and Faizabad are among the criminals rounded up recently, while their accomplice is absconding
Punjab Police have identified two criminals from outside the state for the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on the intelligence headquarters in Mohali on May 9.
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According to senior officials probing the case, an analysis of the leads shows the two accused are gangsters and one of them belongs to Jhajjar district in Haryana, while the other is from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.
“Like other members of this (terror) module, they were also paid to carry out the attack. The two are gangsters and have a criminal past,” a top police official said. The third person who accompanied the duo, Charat Singh, is still at large. Charat, who is serving life sentence in a murder case, was recently released on parole.
The police said the two attackers are among the criminals rounded up from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana recently.
They were hired by Lakhbir Singh Landa, the Canada-based Punjab-origin gangster, who is the main conspirator of the attack.
Conspiracy by Canada-based key handler
On May 13, Punjab director general of police VK Bhawra termed the RPG attack a conspiracy of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and local gangsters.
Landa, 33, was the key handler, who provided the RPG, AK-47 and local network of criminals for logistic support to carry out the attack. Landa is a native of Tarn Taran and fled to Canada in 2017. He is an aide of Pakistan-based gangster Harvinder Singh, alias Rinda, and joined hands with the BKI.
Police had also arrested six persons for their involvement in planning and providing local logistic support to the attackers. Those arrested have been identified as Nishan Singh of Kulla village in Bhikhiwind, Tarn Taran; Jagdeep Singh Kang of Wave Estate in Sector 85, SAS Nagar; Kanwarjit Singh, alias Kanwar Bath, 40, of Gumtala in Amritsar; Baljinder Singh, alias Rambo, 41, of Patti, Tarn Taran; Baljit Kaur, alias Sukhi, 50, of Kot Khalsa, Amritsar; and Anant Deep Singh, alias Sonu, 32, of Guru Nanak Colony, Amritsar.
Two vehicles, a Toyota Fortuner and Maruti Swift (hatchback), were impounded. The sleeve of the RPG was also recovered.
How the attack was carried out on May 9
The police have brought two persons, Mohd Nasim Alam and Mohd Sharaf Raj, both residents of Auraiya in Bihar for questioning from Noida as they were found to be in touch with the two attackers.
Landa took the help of Nishan and his accomplice Charat Singh of Khemkaran for carrying out the RPG attack and being a local resident, Jagdeep Singh helped Charat in conducting a recce of the intelligence office on Monday morning. Charat and his two aides had carried out the RPG attack at 7.42pm.
Charat provided the two attackers hideouts and handed them over to Nishan, who arranged for their stay at Bath and Baljit Kaur’s house in Amritsar from April 27 to May 7. Nishan, who was arrested by the Faridkot police on May 11 under the Arms Act, retrieved the RPG from the earmarked location on the Kulla-Patti road on Landa’s directions.
Baljinder Rambo, who was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act and is a drug addict, had delivered the AK-47 to Charat and his two aides on Nishan’s directions.
Anant Deep is a brother-in-law of Nishan and used to assist him in providing logistic support, the DGP said.
