Police claim to solve Jalandhar police station blast case, arrest 4 Kashmiri students

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 5

The Punjab Police on Monday solved Jalandhar's Maqsudan police station hand grenade blasts case of September 14 with the arrest of two college students associated with Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), a Kashmir-based terrorist outfit.

The outfit is headed by Zakir Rashid Bhatt alias Zakir Musa, who masterminded and guided the attacks, involving Shahid Qayoom (22) and Fazil Bashir (23), students of ST Soldier College of Engineering and Technology, Jalandhar.

DGP Suresh Arora said four persons were involved in carrying out the hand-grenade blasts in the police station. They were Shahid, Fazil, Mir Ravoof Ahmed alias Rouf, and Mir Umar Ramzan alias Gazi. While Shahid and Fazil were pursuing B-Tech (Civil) 7th Semester, the other two, who are still absconding, were trained AGH terrorist operatives who flew from Srinagar to Chandigarh on September 13, with the sole purpose of carrying out these attacks.

Investigations so far have revealed that AGH's recruiter Amir of Dada Sara Tral in Kashmir had contacted both the students when they were in Kashmir. He reportedly radicalised the students and also exhorted them to work for AGH. Shahid and Fazil were in contact with the leaders/members of the AGH outfit over different chat applications.

The DGP added that after reaching Chandigarh, Rouf and Gazi travelled to Jalandhar by bus where they met Shahid and Fazil around Maqsudan Chowk, located near police station Maqsudan. Shahid and Fazil took them to their friend's PG in Surat Nagar, Maqsudan. Both Rouf and Gazi, along with Shahid and Fazil, carried out the recce of the police station and others on September 13.

According to the DGP the operatives earlier contemplated throwing grenades at CRPF and ITBP Camps located near Bidhipur Railway crossing, and had conducted a recce of CRPF Campus also. Shahid had borrowed a black colour HP number Pulsar bike from one of his friends to facilitate the reconnaissance operation.

On September 14, at around 4.30 pm, the four conspirators took the grenades and left for the police station at around 5.30 pm. They sported face masks to avoid detection. They decided to meet at Jalandhar bus stand after throwing the grenades at the police station. 

Around 7.40 pm, they hurled four grenades at the police station and fled the spot. After the blasts, Rouf, Gaji and Fazil reached the bus stand via DAV College, Patel Chowk route while Shahid reached there by taking Jalandhar Byepass route. A little later, Rouf and Gazi boarded a bus for J&K from Jammu counter and fled Jalandhar city.

The DGP added that Faizal Bashir was arrested by Punjab Police from Awantipora in Kashmir on November 3 and Shahid Qayoom was arrested from Jalandhar on November 4. An FIR under Sections 307, 427, 120-B of IPC and 3, 4, 5 of Explosives Act has been registered against them.

He added that further investigations were in progress and the Punjab Police was working closely with J&K Police and intelligence agencies to arrest the remaining Kashmiri terrorists, and to unearthed the entire conspiracy and network built by these outfits/individuals in Punjab and J&K.