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Bathinda blasts result of mishandling explosives by radicalised man: Police
Two blasts in Bathinda were caused by a radicalized farmer's son mishandling explosives. Both he and his father were severely injured. Investigation ongoing.
The two blasts, which took place in a farmer’s house in Bathinda’s Jeeda village on Wednesday, were the result of the farmer’s 19-year-old “radicalised” son mishandling come chemicals while trying to assemble high-intensity explosives, investigators said on Friday as sleuths from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in New Delhi rushed to the village to look into it. Gurpreet Singh, 19, and his father Jagtar Singh suffered severe injuries in the blasts and have been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Bathinda.
Police authorities said Gurpreet Singh was found to be an ardent follower of Pakistan-based terrorist Azhar Masood, head of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal said Gurpreet’s mobile phone had several videos and a search history for links to Islamic radicals and assembling explosives. She said he created a fake social media user identity to follow various handles containing extremists’ content, including that of Masood.
“We have confiscated his mobile phones which have been sent for a forensic examination. During a brief questioning at the hospital, Gurpreet admitted that he sourced the explosive material online. Our teams are working to find out how he was influenced by radicals. There is no evidence yet to link that he was in touch with extremists,” said the SSP.
A case was registered against Gurpreet at Nehianwala police station under various sections of the Explosives Act, Section 287 (negligent conduct with respect to combustible matter) and 326 (f) (causing damage to property by explosive substance) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The accused has not been formally arrested as he is undergoing treatment. On Friday, surgeons had to amputate Gurpreet’s hand that was badly damaged, leading to a threat of spreading infection in other organs. Initial probe revealed that Gurpeet sustained injuries when a blast took place at around 6 am on September 10 when he mishandled the explosive material collected in an unauthorised manner. His father suffered injuries at around 4 pm on the same day when he was cleaning up the blast site without knowing that it was an explosive material, cops said. The police came to know about it on Thursday when the hospital informed them.
Sources said multiple investigating agencies are working on the case. “A team of IB officials landed in Bathinda and is in touch with the district police authorities for further leads in the case. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has not formally joined the probe. We are examining the financial details of the accused,” said an official.
Investigators said the house remained sealed till Friday evening as bomb disposal teams from the Punjab Armed Police (PAP), Jalandhar, and Bathinda range were sanitising the house with the help of trained professionals and robots. “Remote-controlled vehicles have been pressed to search every nook and corner of the house. Teams are working cautiously as the yellow-coloured explosive material found in a room was of high intensity,” added the SSP.
Police authorities said Gurpreet is a studious student and he enrolled in a private law college in Bathinda this year. The SSP said the accused had psychiatric issues and he was treated at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. “He is said to have a history of anxiety. Doctors had advised the parents to maintain a round-24x7 watch on him. As per the family, Gurpreet’s treatment was discontinued about two years ago for unspecified reasons,” she added.
