New Delhi: A person from Tarn Taran district has been detained in connection with the blast at the Intelligence Wing Headquarters of Punjab Police in Mohali.
The investigation team said on the condition of anonymity – Jagroop Singh, a resident of Mehandipur village in Khadoor Sahib area of the district, was taken into custody after the investigation team found some suspects in providing logistics support and lodging arrangements for the attackers. Got a strong lead regarding the role a senior police officer was part of. ,
Singh was lodged in Faridkot jail on charges of murder and had come on parole a few days back, the official said.
The state was put on high alert mode on Monday at 7.45 pm with a rocket-propelled grenade on the third floor of the Intelligence Wing Headquarters building.
The Punjab Police said that they have recovered the rocket launcher used in the RPG attack. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Russian-made launcher was found in the bushes about 1 km from the intelligence headquarters, adding that an RPG-22 with a firing range of 700 meters was used in the attack.
Another Tarn Taran resident Nishan Singh was reported to have been detained in this case. However, the Faridkot police later clarified that he was arrested in a separate case of arms smuggling.
The Faridkot police have not found any link of the trail with the Mohali blast. Superintendent of Police (Detective), Faridkot, Bal Krishna Singla said, “Neither any higher authority nor agency has sought their custody from us till now, adding that Nishan has been sent on five-day police remand.”
Earlier, the police said that they have already arrested several suspects for questioning.
On Wednesday, a CCTV footage of the RPG attack on Mohali’s Sector 77 building also surfaced, said one of the people mentioned above.
In the footage, a car is seen moving on the road in front of the Intelligence Headquarters building. Suddenly, there was a flash of light.
Investigators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were focusing on the role of gangster-turned-Khalistani terrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda, who hailed from Tarn Taran district and had traveled to at least one state in Punjab and Maharashtra before his escape. He was wanted in at least 24 criminal cases. Went to Pakistan two years ago.
Senior police officials said that preliminary investigation suggests that the attack was carried out at the behest of Rinda by members of a local gang operating in Punjab and Haryana.
Soon after the attack, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann promised the harshest punishment to those trying to vitiate the state’s atmosphere. Mann held a meeting with the Director General of Police and other senior officials on Tuesday and said that no one would be allowed to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab.
Following the incident, a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Explosives Act was registered at Mohali’s Sohana police station.
DGP K Bhavra had earlier said that a projectile hit the building and the explosive used in it appears to be TNT (trinitrotoluene).
(with agency input)