Jalalabad blast: NIA files chargesheet against 6 ultras

New Delhi, March 15

Anti-terror federal probe agency NIA today said it had filed a chargesheet against six accused persons in the September 2021 Jalalabad bomb blast case in a special court in Mohali. They have been charged under various sections of the Explosive Substances Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC.

Those named in the chargesheet included Sukhwinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, and Ranjit Singh (all from Ferozepur), Parveen Singh of Fazilka, Habib Khan from Pakistan and Lakhbir Singh Rode, a Pakistan-based designated terrorist.

The National Investigation Agency, in an official statement, said its investigation had revealed the conspiracy of Pakistan-based designated terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode, self-styled chief of International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), and his associates to cause multiple explosions at crowded places in Punjab and to effect large-scale causalities and strike terror in the minds of people.

“On the directions of Rode, another Pakistan based narco-terror operative Habib Khan, alias doctor, had radicalised and recruited Balwinder Singh and Sukhwinder Singh and motivated them to plant bombs using pre-assembled improvised explosive devices (tiffin bombs) smuggled along with heroin from across the border,” it said.

In furtherance of their plan, eight pre-assembled tiffin bombs (along with training material) were received by Binder Singh and Sukhwinder Singh along with large quantities of heroin and money sent to fund their terror activities, the NIA alleged, while adding prior to the explosion that occurred in Jalalabad, the terrorists had set ablaze a car as well as a few shops in Ferozepur.

The NIA further said on September 15, 2021, Binder and Sukhwinder had conducted reconnaissance of a crowded market in Jalalabad town to carry out an explosion. “While Binder was trying to retrieve the motorcycle along with the planted tiffin bomb, as it had not exploded at the designated time, he was killed on the spot due to explosion,” it added.

Got 8 tiffin bombs from across border

• NIA alleged eight pre-assembled tiffin bombs were received by ultras along with heroin and money
• Accused Binder Singh was killed while trying to retrieve the bike and tiffin bomb after it failed to explode initially
• Prior to the blast, the terrorists had set ablaze a car as well as a few shops in Ferozepur, the NIA claimed