Punjab Police have arrested Anil Sharma, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, in connection with the blast outside the BSF Headquarters in Jalandhar and police teams are continuously interrogating accused and investigating larger conspiracy behind the attack while authorities are also examining every possible angle linked to the case as raids and investigations continue across different parts of Punjab.
During the operation police have detained 17 youths for questioning and sources say many of them were allegedly in contact with Shehzad Bhatti through social media platforms.
The latest action comes after Punjab Police and intelligence agencies gathered important leads suggesting that the said explosion may have been part of a larger conspiracy with alleged links to Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI and Khalistani networks operating from across border and investigating agencies are currently focusing on alleged role of Pakistan based don Shehzad Bhatti whose name has repeatedly surfaced during investigation while sources also claim that many of the detained youths were allegedly in touch with Bhatti through social media platforms and officials suspect that online communication may have been used to influence or coordinate activities linked to the case.
Police teams have been carrying out raids and investigations across several districts of Punjab, including Nakodar, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Hoshiarpur. Sources say interrogation of the detained youths continued late into the night as investigators tried to piece together the larger network behind the blast.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur said the investigation is moving quickly and police teams are actively working on several strong leads and she also stated that investigators are very close to identifying and arresting all those involved in the conspiracy.
The blast had taken place on evening of May 5 near main gate of Border Security Force headquarters at BSF Chowk in Guru Nanakpura area of Jalandhar and initially police believed that a scooter parked near the spot may have caught fire because of a technical fault however after forensic teams examined the site officials confirmed that explosive material was involved however later the case later took a turn after Forensic Science Laboratory reportedly found traces of explosive substances at the scene and following this police registered an FIR and started treating the matter as a deliberate explosion case instead of an accidental vehicle fire.
The scooter involved in the explosion belonged to 20 year old Gurpreet Singh who was detained and questioned for several hours before being released by Punjab Police and after his release Gurpreet spoke to media and claimed that he himself was a victim in the incident and according to Gurpreet he had gone to BSF Headquarters that evening to collect a parcel that had allegedly been returned. He said he was standing near his scooter and speaking to his family on phone when the explosion suddenly took place and claimed that the blast was extremely powerful and that he immediately ran towards BSF complex to save himself and also stated that BSF personnel quickly shut the gates after the explosion while police and security agencies rushed to the spot.
Meanwhile investigators are also examining CCTV footage collected from nearby areas to build a clear timeline of events and officials earlier said that they had identified “three to four strong leads” in the case and eyewitnesses had earlier claimed that an unidentified man may have left a packet near the scooter shortly before the blast.
Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav had visited the blast site a day after the incident took place and reviewed security situation with senior officials and during his visit he said the explosion could involve an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and added that such devices can be triggered through timers or remote control mechanisms.
DGP had also warned that such incidents may be attempts to disturb peace and stability in Punjab. He urged people not to believe rumours or unverified information circulating on social media.
Another important angle being examined is a viral social media post allegedly released by a group calling itself the Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA) and the post claimed responsibility for the blast and referred to an alleged operation named “Operation Nawa Savair” and as of now police say investigation remains active and all angles are being carefully examined.