BJP office grenade blast: ISI plot hatched by handlers in Portugal & Germany, says Punjab DGP

CHANDIGARH: The grenade blast outside the Punjab BJP HQ in Chandigarh was orchestrated by ISI-linked plotters in Europe for just Rs 2 lakh, police said on Sunday, four days after the attack triggered shockwaves across the region.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav announced the arrest of seven suspects at a press meet and said: "The accused were motivated and directed by ISI-backed foreign-based handlers Baljot Singh alias Jot in Portugal and Harjeet Singh Laadi in Germany. They were promised a monetary reward of Rs 2 lakh for carrying out the attack."

"Acting on the directions of their foreign-based handlers, the accused coordinated the delivery and execution of the attack. They used multiple cutouts and sub-modules to execute it," he added.

TOI had on April 2 reported the arrest of key suspects Amanpreet Singh and Gurtej Singh, residents of Rattangarh in Ropar. DGP Yadav said the counter-intelligence wing of Punjab Police, in cooperation with Chandigarh Police and Haryana Police, arrested the two main perpetrators who lobbed the hand grenade.

Amanpreet has a criminal record, with FIRs of theft and snatching registered against him in Mohali and Bilaspur in Himachal, Yadav said. The others in custody are Balwinder Lal alias Shami, Jasvir Singh alias Jassi, Charanjit Singh alias Channi, Rubal Chauhan and Mandeep alias Abhijot Sharma. Police seized a hand grenade and a.30 bore Zigana pistol from them. Three bullets were seized in a search of Amanpreet's house on Thursday.

"During preliminary questioning, Gurtej disclosed that he came in contact with a foreign-based handler around six months ago via a social media platform. Acting on the handler's instructions, Gurtej, along with his co-accused Rubal and Mandeep, collected the consignment of arms and grenades from Jasvir in Bharatpur village of Nawanshahr district on March 28. Gurtej took Amanpreet along to carry out the attack," the DGP said.

"On April 1, after conducting a recce, Amanpreet hurled the grenade, while Gurtej recorded the act on his mobile phone at the handler's behest. Both accused fled the scene," he added.

The duo took a govt bus to Kharar on the outskirts of Chandigarh to dodge nakas. The onboard CCTV camera clicked Gurtej and Aman, who was carrying a helmet. To hide their tracks, the duo transferred Rs 40 via phone to another passenger, a stranger, and took Rs 40 in cash from him, which they paid the conductor, say police. From Kharar, they took another bus to their village, where they were arrested the next day.

All the seven accused were presented before a Mohali court on Sunday, which remanded them in three-day police custody.