Sector 10 blast case: Accused was given grenade in Batala

The interrogation of two prime accused in the Sector 10 blast case has revealed that the grenade and a pistol had been procured by one of them from near a bridge in Batala. An unidentified associate of Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia, a US-based gangster, had placed these near the bridge.

Police sources said Happy had instructed accused Rohan Masih to collect the package containing the grenade and the pistol from a specific location.

The sources said as the grenade was in poor shape, Rohan covered it with tape.

The Punjab police, who had earlier nabbed Rohan and interrogated him, had disclosed that the military grade grenade was smuggled from across the border through drone with the help of the ISI, an intelligence agency of Pakistan.

The investigation further revealed that Rohan, who is from the same village as Happy, got in touch with him through Instagram. The two began chatting and had made a few phone calls over a span of two months.

According to police sources, Happy told Rohan about the plan to attack the Sector 10 house on September 5 and the latter executed it within six days.

It has also been revealed that another accused, Vishal, who accompanied Rohan the day the grenade was lobbed into the Sector 10 house, was unaware of the plan until they conducted a recce of the house. Rohan had called Vishal to Amritsar, and they travelled to Chandigarh for the recce on September 9.

Happy had promised to give the accused Rs 5 lakh for carrying out the blast. However, only Rs 36,000 was paid to them. The sources added the police had not found any evidence linking auto driver Kuldeep to the crime. Also, no direct involvement of two other suspects in the crime has been established. Both were brought here from Punjab on production warrant along with the two prime suspects. The police said a retired Punjab police officer was the target. They believe the motive behind the attack was to avenge the death of four youths who were killed during a police firing in 1986 at Nakidar.

The blast was allegedly orchestrated by ISI-backed terrorist Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda, of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), who is based in Pakistan; and Happy.

Grenade was in poor shape

Sources said that the grenade, which one of accused Rohan was given in Batala, was old and damaged. He covered it with a tape to secure it.