E-Paper
Pak-made phone used to trigger IED blast at Ambala police station: NIA
The revelations were made by the NIA in its chargesheet, which was filed before a special court in Panchkula last month. HT has accessed a portion of the chargesheet
Months after a low-intensity car bomb blast was reported outside the Baldev Nagar police station on NH-44 in Ambala, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) established that the IED used for the blast was triggered using a Nokia phone made in Pakistan.
The revelations were made by the NIA in its chargesheet, which was filed before a special court in Panchkula last month. HT has accessed a portion of the chargesheet.
The anti-terror agency filed charges against eight accused in its challan, including Pakistani gangster-turned-terrorist Shehzad Bhatti, Karamjit Singh alias Tony, Raman Kumar, Satyam, Sukhdev Singh alias Sukha, Amarjeet Singh alias Ambi, and brothers Akash and Soureb alias Sobi alias Sourab, under sections of UAPA, BNS, the Telecommunication Act, and the Explosive Substances Act.
In the chargesheet, the NIA said that Bhatti, currently suspected to be operating from Brazil, was the “principal conspirator, foreign-based handler, recruiter, financier, and overall controller of the conspiracy” culminating in the blast at the police station parking on January 10, days ahead of Republic Day celebrations.
Bhatti, the agency said, utilised social media platforms including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Signal, along with encrypted communication channels, to identify, recruit, and handle individuals within India for executing the terrorist act.
After the blast, a team of the bomb disposal squad, in assistance with the Ambala police, recovered three LPG cylinders, each weighing three kilograms, from the site, which is just five kilometers away from the interstate border with Punjab.
The NIA said that the filled cylinders were procured by accused Akash, Soureb and Karamjit Singh in Ambala same day, for enhancing the impact in the Maruti 800 car.
The local police arrested Karamjit Singh alias Tony on January 13. Two days later, Akash and Soureb alias Sobi were arrested on January 15. Both were taken into seven days of remand. Later, Raman Kumar, a Jammu native, was also held for his alleged involvement. The NIA took over the probe on January 28.
The agency found that as part of the conspiracy, Bhatti established contact with Akash to arrange and procure a vehicle and paid him ₹60,000 for the car with registration number DL 3 CAZ 6651, which was purchased on January 8 from Car Bazar Sri Muktsar Sahib (Punjab) and ultimately used for deploying the IED.
“Further, to carry out the logistical arrangements, Bhatti paid ₹30,000 to Akash through Raman Kumar. He also paid ₹5,000 to Karamjit Singh, who placed the explosive-laden vehicle at the police station and also did videography at Bhatti’s behest,” the NIA told the court.
“Further, to carry out the logistical arrangements, Bhatti paid ₹30,000 to Akash through Raman Kumar. He also paid ₹5,000 to Karamjit Singh, who placed the explosive-laden vehicle at the police station and also did videography at Bhatti’s behest,” the NIA told the court.
The federal agency also alleged that accused Amarjeet Singh procured multiple SIM cards from another accused, Sukhdev Singh, for sending them to Pakistan using a drone, and also used one for his personal use.
“Pakistan linkage in initiation of the instant blast has emerged during investigation, as the SIM number 9878055613 through which SMS has been sent to the SIM number 8264212077 which led to triggering of the IED was used in a Nokia phone. On investigation it has been established that the Nokia phone was manufactured in Pakistan itself and this issue also gets bolstered by the fact that the distributor and retailer of the phone were of Pakistan itself,” the NIA said.
“Similarly, the other number 9876411469, which was sent to Pakistan via drone, was found to be directly connected to the accused Soureb on the date of the incident,” the agency said, further mentioning that through this number, both Soureb and Akash were trained on assembling and activating the IED, and it was used in a Samsung phone also manufactured in Pakistan.
The Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA) claimed responsibility for the blast on Instagram, and on investigation, the NIA found that the account’s IP address was resolved in Pakistan.
Bhatti has also been accused of arranging the placement/delivery of explosive material on the intervening night of January 8 and 9, through his unidentified associates.
“He also exercised control over the assembly of the IED and continuously supervised the assembly and activation process through his unidentified associates. The associates also virtually facilitated Akash and Soureb by guiding them on assembling and activating the IED, as well as integrating the SIM card provided by Karamjit Singh,” the chargesheet read.
Earlier, NIA had also established that Bhatti was the mastermind in the November 2025 explosion at Women police station of Sirsa, another district on the border with Punjab.
In the Sirsa case, the NIA chargesheeted nine men including Bhatti and another Pak-based handler Sohail Ahmad alias Sohail Baloch in May 2026.
In June, the agency carried out raids at 18 locations across nine districts in Haryana and Punjab in connection with three Bhatti-linked terror-gangster cases, including Sirsa and Ambala.
