Amritsar grenade attack case cracked, elderly woman among three arrested; old sarpanchi rivalry behind attack
Amritsar grenade attack: The Punjab Police have claimed to have solved the grenade attack on a house in the border village of Jatta in Amritsar district, arresting two alleged key accused in connection with the incident.
According to Border Range DIG and Amritsar Police Commissioner Harmanbir Singh Gill, the attack was allegedly linked to an old rivalry that intensified during the village sarpanchi elections. Investigators also suspect that money was offered to carry out the attack.
The two arrested accused have been identified as Jagroop Singh and Vishwaspreet Singh. A court has sent them to five-day police remand, and their interrogation is underway.
The grenade attack took place in the jurisdiction of the Ramdas police station. Following the incident, teams from Amritsar Rural Police and other units began an investigation using technical surveillance, CCTV footage and human intelligence.
Police teams worked under the supervision of Amritsar Rural SSP Kanwalpreet Singh Chahal and eventually traced the alleged involvement of the two accused.
Investigators said an old dispute between groups from the two villages had been continuing for some time and became more intense during the sarpanchi elections, when both sides were backing their respective candidates.
The police are also examining the background of the person whose house was targeted and checking previous cases registered against him.
According to the police, a confrontation had taken place a few days before the grenade attack involving the sister of alleged gangster Happy Passia. Investigators suspect that the dispute contributed to the planning of the attack.
The DIG said another clash had taken place three to four days before the grenade incident, during which aerial firing was allegedly reported. A separate case was registered over that incident.
The police suspect that the grenade attack was subsequently planned and that local contacts were used to arrange people to carry it out.
The investigation has also brought the alleged role of several other people to light. The police have arrested Bhupinder Kaur, while her sister Kirandeep Kaur is yet to be arrested.
According to the police, the two allegedly contacted a person based abroad. The DIG identified a Singapore-based person known as 'Sandy' as an important link being investigated in the case.
The police are now trying to establish the complete chain of communication and identify everyone involved in the alleged conspiracy.
DIG Gill said the accused were allegedly promised around Rs 1 lakh for carrying out the attack, although they reportedly received only around Rs 30,000.
During questioning, the police also claimed that the accused had searched Internet and YouTube for information about the use of grenades.
The police said there was so far no evidence indicating that the accused had received specialised training from any particular organisation.
Investigators are also trying to determine how the grenades allegedly came from across the Pakistan border, where the drone dropping took place and how the explosives subsequently reached the accused.
Officials said both the forward and backward links of the suspected network are being investigated.
The police said several other people are under investigation and more arrests could follow.
Investigators are also checking whether the accused may have been involved in any other incidents of firing, attacks or criminal activities in the past.
10 kg heroin, pistol recovered in separate case
Meanwhile, the police have also reported a major seizure in a separate cross-border drug trafficking case.
According to the DIG, teams recovered 10 kg of heroin, a pistol and an allegedly illegally obtained motorcycle. Three persons— Sajan Rora, Vijaypal Singh and Jashanpreet Singh — have been arrested in connection with the case.
The police suspect that the heroin was sent across the border using a drone. Further investigation is underway to trace the backward links of the alleged trafficking network.
Gill said teams from Amritsar Rural Police, Amritsar Commissionerate and Batala Police are working together to target cross-border smuggling networks.
He said intelligence inputs from different agencies are being shared and acted upon to prevent possible criminal activities before they take place.
The DIG maintained that the investigation into the Jatta grenade attack has provided important leads and that more names could emerge as questioning continues.
- PTC NEWS
