The bomb blast site at the court complex in Ludhiana. File photo
New Delhi, January 8
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today said it had filed a chargesheet against five persons, including a Pakistan national Zulfikar, alias Pehalwan, in a case related to a bomb explosion in a Ludhiana court in December 2021. The incident had left a suspected terrorist dead and six civilians injured.
In an official statement, the agency said the chargesheet was filed against the suspects in a special NIA court, Mohali in Punjab, on Saturday.
Rode planned blasts
During the investigation, it was revealed that Pakistan-based International Sikh Youth Federation and Khalistan Liberation Force terrorist handler Lakhbir Singh Rode had planned to execute IED blasts at various locations in Punjab. —NIA
According to the agency, the case was initially registered on December 23, 2021, at the police station Division-5, Ludhiana Commissionerate, and was later taken over by the NIA by re-registering the case on January 13, 2022.
“During the investigation, it was revealed that Pakistan-based International Sikh Youth Federation and Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist handler Lakhbir Singh Rode had planned to execute IED blasts at various locations in Punjab,” the NIA said in the statement.
“In order to execute the plan, he, in association with Pakistan-based smugglers, recruited India-based operatives to smuggle improvised explosive devices (IED) and to carry out blasts to cause maximum casualties and to strike terror among the public,” it further said.
In furtherance of the conspiracy to carry out IED blasts in Punjab, the NIA said Rode, with the help of Pakistan-based cross-border arms-explosives-narcotics smuggler Zulfikar, alias Pehalwan, Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Malaysia, Surmukh Singh, alias Sammu, Dilbagh Singh, alias Baggo, and Rajanpreet Singh, formed a terror gang.
Rode used the smuggling channels of Zulfikar and his associates to deliver the IED to Gagandeep Singh, alias Gagi, who planted it in the Ludhiana Court Complex and lost his life in the process, the NIA said.
The chargesheet was filed against Gagi (dead), Sammu, Baggo, Rajanpreet — all residents of Punjab — and Zulfikar (Pak national) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the NIA said.
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