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Teen plants IED device in uncle’s shop in Ludhiana over business rivalry, arrested
The matter came to light on Wednesday night when shop owner Ajay Kumar – Sonu’s uncle – detected foul petrol odour coming from a polythene bag kept in his shop. Growing suspicious, he immediately alerted the market association president and the police.
A 19-year-old was arrested in Ludhiana after he built an improvised explosive device (IED) with a timer and planted it in his uncle’s shop in the Basti Jodhewal main market, over a business rivalry. This is one of the busiest markets in the city, especially during festive season.
The accused, identified as Sonu Kumar, a native of Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, currently residing in Basti Jodhewal, had learnt the technique from YouTube and hidden the explosive in his uncle’s shop after setting the timer for 1 am, September 21. But the device did not detonate as the wiring was off.
The matter came to light on Wednesday night when shop owner Ajay Kumar – Sonu’s uncle – detected foul petrol odour coming from a polythene bag kept in his shop. Growing suspicious, he immediately alerted the market association president and the police.
A team was dispatched to the site, which found a cardboard box inside the polythene. The box contained seven packets of petrol (nearly five to six litres), two battery cells, a small clock, a small motor, connecting wires, and about 15–20 grams of a light yellowish powder, suspected to be potash, which has been sent for laboratory verification.
Police commissioner Swapan Sharma said, “Although the wiring was not connected and the clock mechanism was not running, the contents clearly indicated an attempt to assemble an IED.”
‘Accused had come to shop posing as customer’
Further investigation revealed that a man, wearing a surgical mask, had entered the shop posing as a customer on September 20, between 6:30 and 7 pm. He had selected a suitcase and handed over ₹500 to the shopkeeper to gain trust. He then handed him a polythene bag, requesting him to keep it in his outlet for a few hours, saying he would return to collect it and buy the suitcase. “The man never returned,” said a cop involved in the probe.
After the IED recovery, a special investigation team was constituted, which zeroed in on the shopowner’s nephew Sonu, who previously worked at the shop and had recently opened his own bag shop.
Investigators believe that the IED was assembled at Sonu’s aide, Mohammad Amir’s residence in Jagirpur Road, Ludhiana. Both were arrested within 10 hours of the case being registered. As per the police, Sonu is an illiterate while Amir has studied up to Class 5. The duo had purchased the supplies locally, the police commissioner said, adding that Sonu wanted to blow up his uncle’s shop and take over the location.
The two accused have been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to causing grievous hurt and under the explosives/IED-related provisions.
Deputy commissioner of police Rupinder Singh said the shopkeeper’s quick-thinking and timely reporting helped prevent a major tragedy.
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‘Easy access to explosives worrying’
This comes close on the heels of an incident in Bathinda’s Jeeda village, where a father-son duo was left critically injured while trying to assemble explosives to allegedly “blow up an Army establishment in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.” Police commissioner Swapan Sharma said the easy availability of explosive material and related videos on social media is extremely worrying. The accused in the Bathinda case are suspected to have sourced the raw materials online.
