NIA attaches properties of 4 accused in Ludhiana court complex blast case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has attached five immovable properties belonging to four accused in the 2021 Ludhiana court complex bomb blast case. The IED blast, which occurred on December 23, 2021, killed one person, Gagandeep Singh, a dismissed cop, and injured six others.

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The NIA authorities, in a press statement issued on Wednesday, said the attached properties belong to Surmukh Singh alias Sammu, Dilbagh Singh alias Baggo, Harpreet Singh alias Happy Malaysia, a foreign-based alleged terrorist, and Rajanpreet Singh. These properties include land in various villages, such as Kotli Khera, Chak Allah Baksh, Miadi Kalan, and Kolowali.

“On the orders of NIA Special Court, Mohali, the agency has attached 15 kanal and 19 marla land of Surmukh Singh located in Kotli Khera village while Dilbagh Singh’s 27 kanal and 16 marla land was attached in Chak Allah Baksh village,” said the NIA authorities, adding that 27 kanal and 1 marla land of Happy Malaysia was attached in Miadi Kalan village, and another 15 marla of land was attached at Bakha Hari Singh village. Similarly, Rajanpreet’s 15 kanal and 18 marla land was attached in Kolowali village. The properties were attached under Section 33 (1) of the UAPA Act.

The NIA investigation revealed that the blast was carried out at the behest of Pakistan-based International Sikh Youth Federation Chief Lakhbir Singh Rode. The IED used in the blast was smuggled from Pakistan through the Indo-Pak border with the help of a drone.

According to NIA, Rode conspired with Pakistan-based notorious cross-border smuggler Zulfkar alias Pehalwan and Malaysia-based terrorist Happy Malaysia, along with Surmukh Singh, Dilbagh Singh, and Rajanpreet Singh, to carry out blasts in different parts of Punjab and push arms and drugs into Indian territory.

NIA took over the investigation into the Ludhiana court complex blast case in January 2022.