Chandigarh grenade blast a terror attack: Punjab Police

In a joint operation with central agencies, the Punjab Police on Friday solved the Chandigarh grenade blast case, identifying it as masterminded by ISI-backed Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda, of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and USA-based Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia. One of the main perpetrators has been arrested.

Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the arrested accused has been identified as Rohan Masih, a resident of Passia village in Amritsar. The police also recovered a sophisticated 9MM Glock pistol with ammunition from his possession.

On Wednesday evening, two unknown individuals threw a hand grenade in Sector 10, Chandigarh. Investigation revealed the attackers arrived by an auto-rickshaw, with one of them hurling the grenade into the house.

“The grenade used in this incident was military-grade equipment smuggled from across the border through drones with the help of ISI,” said DGP Yadav. He added that the other accused has been identified, and efforts are underway to apprehend him.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Rohan, who has been working in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years, was instructed by Passia, a known associate from his village, to carry out the attack in exchange for money.

The DGP said Rohan confessed to his involvement during questioning, stating he acted on instructions from Passia, who provided the grenade and weapons. Passia also arranged finances and logistics for the operation, he added.

Investigations are continuing in coordination with the Chandigarh Police and Central agencies to unravel the entire conspiracy.

AIG of the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, Sukhminder Singh Mann, stated that after committing the crime, Rohan and his associate initially travelled to Amritsar before parting ways. Rohan went to Khanna before returning to Amritsar. Hoping to travel further to J&K, he was arrested before he could flee.

The AIG stated that it appears the attackers were targeting a specific individual, as the same terror group had previously attempted a similar attack at the same location last year. That attempt was foiled by the Punjab Police with the arrest of two operatives, identified as Bikramjit Singh, alias Raja, of Batala and Bawa Singh of Majitha, he added.