Ludhiana blast suspects brought to Mohali by crime unit

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 29

Key suspects in the Ludhiana courts blast case — Ranjit Singh Cheeta, an undertrial in drug cases, and Sukhwinder Singh Soni, alias Boxer, an accused in multiple terror cases — were today shifted to the Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU), Mohali, for questioning.

The two were reportedly in touch with the deceased suspect, Gagandeep Singh, a dismissed Punjab Police head constable, and facilitated his talks with the pro-Khalistan radical elements abroad.

Sources privy to the development said the two suspects were brought to Mohali for interrogation by senior officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), OCCU and counter-intelligence. After the December 23 blast in the Ludhiana court complex, both Cheeta and Boxer were taken on a seven-day police remand.

“Since the OCCU is a specialised unit, which has access to technical resources to connect the dots and establish evidence, the suspects have been shifted to Mohali for questioning. They will be brought back to Ludhiana in a day or two,” said a senior police official, requesting anonymity.

When Gagandeep was in the Central Jail, Ludhiana, in a heroin recovery case, the duo had reportedly radicalised him and brought him in contact with militants living abroad. It is also being suspected that the entire conspiracy of the bomb blast was hatched in the jail, where Gagandeep, Cheeta and Boxer had access to mobile phones.

“Cheeta and Boxer’s interrogation may expose the entire planning and execution of the blast. During the search of barracks where the two suspects were lodged, we have recovered a diary in which contacts of Pakistan-based terrorists were found,” said the official.

An Internet dongle belonging to Gagandeep was recovered from the blast site. It was used to make calls abroad and in the Central Jail.

Ludhiana Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and other senior police officials are tight-lipped about the ongoing investigation.

Sleeper cell link

• The deceased suspect, Gagandeep Singh, was in touch with sleeper cells activated by pro-Khalistan elements sitting abroad, a police official said
• The cells were reportedly activated in Ludhiana, Khanna and some other places
• They held meetings with Gagandeep prior to the blast at the court complex

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