Patiala techie made cooker bombs for revenge

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, August 21

More than two months after the probe into the death of young techie Rajatvir Singh Sodhi, who is believed to have shot himself, the Patiala police are ready with a challan to be submitted in a local court any time. No terror angle, the police claim members of family of a girl who had spurned his love were the “intended targets”. 

No link with any terror organisation, yet Rajatvir was an “expert in bomb-making”, says the police report. “Rajatvir wanted to eliminate the family of his one-sided love interest and was experimenting with bombs so he could blow the girl’s house in Sangrur district,” it claims. The girl was a student at Rayat and Bahra College, which was Rajatvir’s college too. 

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Quoting  Sadar SHO Jaswinder Singh Tiwana, the challan says: “Three months before his death, he (Rajatvir) trespassed into the girl’s house, but was caught and thrashed by her parents and then let off. He again tried to trespass, was caught, given a sound beating and handed over to the local police. A compromise was reached.”

Thereafter, Rajatvir started visiting websites of separatist organisations for information on making bombs, the challan claims. It says the investigating team had found 10 live bombs, wires, pressure cookers, a dozen knives, 16 mobiles, as many pen drives and a few bombs fitted in pipes and cookers at his house. Rajatvir’s social media accounts showed he had watched two videos with “jihadist” content on May 3, it claims. “There is no terror angle. The boy was an introvert and wanted revenge,” said S Bhupathi, Patiala SSP.  

On June 1, the police were informed of a father-son duo frequenting a vacant plot and experimenting with explosives at a village near Punjabi University. Rajatvir’s father Harpreet Singh was arrested and a crude bomb and a weapon were found in his car. On reaching the accused’s house in Darshan Nagar, the police were told by Harpreet’s wife that their son was in a house nearby. The police rushed there only to find Rajatvir’s body lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. Two days later, Rajatvir’s mother Kiranjot Kaur’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan.

Harpreet Singh, who retired as secretary of one of the market committees, reportedly told the police that his son was in depression ever since his marriage proposal was turned down by a girl. He is still in jail.   The police will file a challan against him under Sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act and Sections 3/4 of the Explosives Act.