MP seeks NIA probe into border area blasts

Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to direct the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to launch a probe into the recent incidents in which gangsters threw hand grenades into the compounds of border area police establishments.

Randhawa said he was in touch with villagers and police officers to know “how and why are gangsters unabashedly lobbing explosives”. He said eight attacks in the past 25 days indicated that “the gangsters/radicals were in control and not the Punjab Police”.

“Despite knowing that the nexus was flourishing, the cops failed to secure their premises. After every blast, cops tried to deny that hand grenades were used. They are making a mockery of themselves. If they cannot protect their own houses, how will they be able to protect the houses of the people?” said the MP. Terming it a “massive intelligence failure”, Sukhjinder Randhawa said a “thorough probe will prove that a gangster-radical link exists.”

“The cops were warned that they would be attacked if they set up check-posts. The result was that instead of establishing new check-posts, they removed the old ones. Such is the terror unleashed by the miscreants,” he said. “The NIA serves as India’s central counter-terror law enforcement agency. It is empowered to investigate offences affecting the sovereignty and security of India. Their expertise is crucial for a thorough investigation into the recent blasts,” the MP said.