Police arrest mastermind behind conspiracy to target Badal

Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, October 18

The Patiala police, in a joint operation with the Rajasthan Police, today arrested German Singh, the mastermind behind the conspiracy to assassinate former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

He was arrested near Nagaon village in Bikaner. He was wanted by the Patiala police in connection with a car theft case in Patran.

German Singh had allegedly plotted to eliminate Badal during the October 7 rally at Mehmadpur in Patiala. Intelligence inputs suggested he and his accomplices had planned to target Badal near the national highway while the rally was on.

“German Singh, along with an accomplice, had conducted a recce at Anandpur Sahib. He had also visited the Patiala rally venue,” the police claimed. “They wanted to target Badal because of his anti-Khalistan stance, but failed to execute their plans,” they added.

On Tuesday, the Patiala police received inputs on German Singh’s movement along the Punjab-Haryana border. A team was formed under the CIA incharge to track him down. He was traced to Kalaint village in Bikaner. Alerted by the Patiala police, the Rajasthan Police picked up the accused for questioning and later handed him over to Punjab cops. Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu said. “We are yet to ascertain if he had been directly linked to any radical group. He was in Punjab on October 6 and 7, but the exact details about his movement could only be ascertained after his interrogation.” The accused would be presented in a court tomorrow, he added. The 22-year old resident of Ajijpur in UP had allegedly masterminded the plot to attack Badal. “German and his three accomplices had snatched two rifles from UP policemen,” he said.

Cops hope to crack Mata Chand Kaur case

Chandigarh: With the arrest of Palwinder Singh from Thailand by the CBI, the Punjab cops hope to get vital leads into the assassination of Mata Chand Kaur at Namdhari headquarters Bhaini Sahib in 2016. Palwinder is  a suspect in a 2015 Jalandhar car blast case. “The CBI was given the case as it was suspected that the blast was linked to the killing of Mata Chand Kaur,” said a police official. tns