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Key accused in Mohali RPG attack case held
The main accused in the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali, was arrested from Mumbai on Thursday, officials familiar with the matter said
The main accused in the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali, was arrested from Mumbai on Thursday, officials familiar with the matter said. The attack was carried out in May this year.
Director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said that the accused Charat Singh is a key operative and associate of Canada-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa. The DGP said that he was arrested in a joint operation involving Punjab Police, ATS Maharashtra and other central agencies.
He said Charat had built a strong crime network across the state with the help of Landa and was providing logistic support and shelter to the other accused people, who carried out the RPG attack.
Charat had also procured the RPG, an AK-47, and other weapons from across the border with the active support of Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) through terrorist Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, said an official in the know of the matter.
Inspector general of police (IGP, headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill, while addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Thursday, said, “With the arrest of Charat Singh, Punjab Police have so far made eight arrests in this case, while, another accused, who is a juvenile and had taken part in the attack, was detainedby the Delhi Police”.
The arrested accused were identified as Nishan Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Baljinder Singh Rambo, Kanwarjeet Singh Bath, Anantdeep Singh Sonu, Baljeet Kaur Sukhi, and Lovepreet Singh Vicky, said the police.
IGP Gill said a manhunt is on for the arrest of the last accused in the case, Deepak Kumar of Jhajjar, Haryana.
“Charat is a habitual offender and faces several cases of heinous crimes, including murder, attempt-to-murder, and charges under the Arms Act in Punjab,” Gill said. The accused was serving a life sentence in a murder case, and at the time of the RPG attack, he was out on a 56-day parole, said the cop.
The IGP added that Charat along with his associates had killed a shopkeeper Shashi Kapoor in Khemkaran, Tarn Taran, in March 2015.
“During his parole period, Charat, who belongs to Mehdipur village near the border town of Khemkaran in Tarn Taran, reassembled his associates including Nishan Singh and others from the district to carry out the RPG attack, which was aimed at destabilising communal harmony and peace in the state,” said the IGP.
