Khalistani terror outfit Babbar Khalsa is the mastermind of the bomb blast that rocked the Ludhiana Sessions Court on Thursday (December 23), reported News18 citing sources in the Intelligence agency. The organisation is active in Canada, the UK, Germany, and some parts of India.
As per the report, the deadly attack was carried out by Babbar Khalsa chief Wadhawa Singh in collusion with gangster Harvinder Singh (also known as Rinda Singh). The latter had escaped to the neighbouring country of Pakistan and had recruited local gangsters to carry out the blast. The cops are investigating the role of the Lahore-based Khalistan organisation, based on the inputs of Intelligence reports.
News18 reported that the terror angle is the primary focus of the investigative agencies. Meanwhile, it has also come to light that the central agencies had been sending security alerts to the Punjab government about the possibility of chaos being created by radical outfits in poll-bound Punjab. The initial probe in the Ludhiana court blast case has revealed the use of RDX. In light of possible terror attacks, the Centre had enhanced the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) to 50 km from the earlier 15 km radius.
Punjab police ignored earlier security alert
On December 14, an internal security alert was sent by Punjab Police ADGP (internal security) and had raised questions regarding the preparations made by the Punjab police in tackling threats from Pakistani ISI and Khalistani elements. It said, “The ISI of Pakistan has adopted a new strategy of dropping consignments of arms, ammunition, and explosive material. 43 drone sightings have taken place (36 times in Amritsar, 7 times in Pathankot, have been observed).”
It emphasised, “The ISI has been using drones to drop consignments of arms, including tiffin bomb, IEDs, grenades and heroin…..It is also worthwhile to mention that as per intelligence inputs, Ferozepur area, based smugglers are very active and are in constant touch with ISI of Pakistan for smuggling consignments of arms. One such module was busted by the Ferozepur police in August 2021 with the arrest of Harmesh Singh Kali, son of Joginder alias Gabbar along with his associates.”
On December 23, an explosion took place inside the court complex in Ludhiana, Punjab. One individual lost his life, while 5 others were injured. According to a report in The Tribune, the blast occurred in a toilet on the third floor at around 12:25 PM. The reports suggest that the roof and walls of the toilet were damaged by the impact of the blast. Videos shared on social media show smoke coming out of the 5-storey building. The district court is located in the same campus where the District Commissioner’s office is located in the heart of Ludhiana city.
