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Ludhiana court blast: Woman cop who was bomber's aide suspended from duties
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) as well as the Punjab Police are currently questioning the woman cop, who was posted as a constable in the office of superintendent of police (SP) in Khanna, Punjab. Notably, alleged bomber Gagandeep Singh.
The senior superintendent of police (SSP) in Punjab's Khanna city on Friday suspended a woman cop, who was in a relationship with alleged bomber of Ludhiana court blast case Gagandeep Singh.
The woman cop was posted as a constable in the office of superintendent of police (SP) in Khanna. She is currently being questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as well as the Punjab Police in connection with the blast.
Investigation has so far found that Singh was a former policeman, who was dismissed from duty in 2019 after being held in a drug peddling case and later sent to jail for two years. At the time of his dismissal, he was posted as a head constable at a police station in Khanna. He was released from prison in September this year.
Meanwhile, a money trail has been discovered in Singh's bank account in which it was being credited with ₹3 lakh in the second week of December, in instalments. The bank employee with whom Singh, who was at the time of the blast a cloth trader, in touch, has also been questioned. The woman cop, however, has maintained that she didn't hand him the money.
Notably, the blast took place on December 23 at the Ludhiana district court complex, situated close to the police commissionerate office. In the incident, Singh died while five others were injured. The bomb went off near the washroom of the building's second floor, which comprises eight courtrooms.
Punjab police chief Siddharth Chattopadhyay said that Singh, who have “very good technical skills”, had assembled the bomb inside the washroom. He added that the alleged bomber met some people, including Khalistani elements and drug smugglers, during his time at the prison.
“We have strong leads that Pakistan-based, pro-Khalistani narco-terrorists are behind the blast,” Chattopadhyay said last Saturday.
The NIA on Thursday lodged a first information report (FIR) against Jaswinder Singh Multani, a member of the banned Khalistani outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and the prime suspect in the blast case, along with some others, as part of the investigation into a larger conspiracy for attacks in Indian cities, Hindustan Times reported earlier in the day.
He was detained by German authorities in Erfurt in the central part of the European country earlier this week on India's request. Multani, 45, has been charged with criminal conspiracy, carrying out war against India, and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the FIR.
It is suspected that the explosion was carried out at Multani's behest, who allegedly made arrangements for the logistics remotely using his contacts in Pakistan.
