2 more land in police net in grenade seizure case

The Ludhiana police have arrested two more persons in the grenade seizure case, taking the total number of arrests to five.

The grenade was recovered from a man at a police check-post on Tuesday. The arrested include two inmates of a Muktsar jail.

Meanwhile, police sources said the investigation pointed to the smuggling of the grenade from across the border with Pakistan with the help of a drone.

Earlier, the Ludhiana police claimed to have foiled a major terror plot. The grenade was suspected to be detonated at a crowded place, possibly a Chhath Puja venue.

“The entire conspiracy was hatched by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) through their operatives active in Punjab,” said a source.

Initially, the police had arrested Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Muktsar, who was given the task to transport the explosive to Ludhiana while his aide Shekhar Singh managed to escape.

Two inmates of Muktsar jail — Ramneek Singh and Parwinder Singh Chidi — who were an "integral part" of the conspiracy were also booked and arrested after bringing them on production warrant from the jail.

Those arrested now were identified as Shekhar and Ajay. A senior police official said their ISI handler sitting abroad was in touch with the two jailed inmates and the duo was told to further deploy men for orchestrating attack in Ludhiana.

The officer said Kuldeep and Shekhar were then engaged by inmates to ferry the grenade from Chheharta in Amritsar to Ludhiana. From Ludhiana, the grenade was allegedly to be handed over to another contact for a possible blast during Chhath Puja celebrations.

“Kuldeep and Shekhar, after collecting grenade from a border area, travelled to Ludhiana in a bus. The intercepted near Shivpuri Chowk. Shekhar managed to give a slip to the police while Kuldeep was arrested. Their ISI handlers had directed the accused to ensure blast in some busy market. The possibility of a blast at a Chhath venue cannot be ruled out,” another officer said.