By PTI
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab police on Monday claimed to have solved the case of a hand-grenade attack at the Crime Investigating Agency (CIA) office in Nawanshahr by busting a Pakistan-based terror module.
The module, run by Harvinder Singh alias Rinda, was busted with the arrest of three of its operatives, Director General of Police (DGP) V K Bhawra said here.
On the intervening night of November 7 and 8 last year, unidentified people had hurled a hand grenade at the CIA office in Nawanshahr with the intention to kill police officials.
However, the officials present at the office had escaped unhurt.
Those arrested have been identified as Manish Kumar alias Mani alias Baba, a resident of Bains village in Nawanshahr, Ramandeep Singh alias Jakhu of Atta village in Jalandhar’s Goraya and Pardeep Singh alias Bhatti of Sahlon village in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar, according to a statement issued by police.
Police have also seized a live hand grenade from the possession of the accused, the statement said.
Bhawra said after an extensive investigation, the counter-intelligence wing of the Punjab police and the SBS Nagar police managed to arrest the three men for their alleged involvement in the attack.
“During interrogation, Ramandeep confessed that he, along with Manish, had thrown the hand grenade at the Nawanshahr CIA office on the directions of Harvinder Singh alias Rinda,” the DGP said, adding that Ramandeep had picked up two hand grenades from a location on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road, as guided by Rinda.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), SBS Nagar, Sandeep Kumar said while one hand grenade was used in the attack in Nawanshahr, another live hand grenade, similar to the one used to carry out the attack, was recovered on the disclosure of Ramandeep.
Rinda struck a deal with Ramandeep for Rs 4 lakh to carry out the attack, the SSP added.
According to the statement, Rinda, a history-sheeter active in Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra and Haryana, is wanted by the Punjab police in connection with heinous crimes, including murder, contract killing, robbery, extortion and snatching.
Police have nominated Rinda as an accused in the case and added the relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the FIR dated November 8, 2021, which was initially registered under the provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including those for attempt to murder, at the Nawanshahr City police station.
