The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has informed the Chandigarh District Court that 26 witnesses in the 2024 Sector 10 grenade attack case are facing serious threats to their lives. Acting on the agency’s plea, the court has ordered security cover for all witnesses and directed that their identities remain confidential.
The NIA filed the application two days back, stating that the case involves members of the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and other high-risk operatives. The court granted the request, stressing that the safety of witnesses would be a top priority as the trial proceeds under special supervision.
The attack, which took place on September 11, 2024, was masterminded by Pakistan-based terrorists Harvinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, and his associate Happy Passian. Acting on their directions, two youths — Rohan and Vishal Masih — lobbed a grenade at Kothi No. 575, Sector 10, Chandigarh. Although the blast caused no casualties, it sent shockwaves across Punjab and Chandigarh’s security establishment. Officials said the target was believed to be a former Punjab Police officer, who was not present at home during the incident.
Investigations revealed that the assailants had arrived from the Sector 43 bus stand in an auto-rickshaw, conducted a recce, and fled in the same vehicle after the attack. The driver, Kuldeep Kumar, was detained but later released after no direct role was established. Rohan and Vishal were later arrested by the Punjab Police and are currently lodged in Amritsar Jail. Their alleged handler, Abhijot Singh, is in Hoshiarpur Jail, and the trial against all three is underway in the Chandigarh District Court.
Following NIA’s request, the court has issued a non-bailable warrant against absconding terrorist Harvinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda. Believed to be hiding in Pakistan, Rinda has been on the radar of the NIA, Punjab Police, and Maharashtra Police for several years. He is accused of smuggling arms, ammunition, and drugs from Pakistan to India and of orchestrating multiple terrorist attacks, including the RPG assault on Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in Mohali in 2022.
The court has also begun proceedings to declare another Babbar Khalsa operative, Shamsher Singh alias Shera, a proclaimed offender (PO). Summons have been issued for his appearance on November 4. If he fails to appear, he will be officially declared a PO. Earlier, the court had also issued a non-bailable warrant against him that could not be executed.
Rinda, originally from Tarn Taran and later settled in Nanded, Maharashtra, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a 2011 murder case. He fled to Pakistan via Nepal using a fake passport, and is a key arms and narcotics trafficker responsible for drone-based weapon deliveries across the Punjab border, as NIA has described him.
Declared an ‘Individual Terrorist’ by the Government of India in 2023, Rinda remains one of the most wanted figures linked to cross-border terrorism, organized crime, and drug smuggling in northern India.
