Punjab Police on Friday said it had arrested five people in connection with an RPG attack at its Intelligence headquarters in Mohali, adding that it could have been a plot between militant outfit Babbar Khalsa International and Pakistan’s spy agency ISI.
A sixth suspect is being held in police custody in a separate case, according to Director-General of Police VK Bhawra.
The plot behind Friday’s attack was traced and it appears that gangsters at the behest of Pakistan’s ISI were linked with militant group Babbar Khalsa International, Bhawra said in a press conference.
Lakhbir Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran, is a close associate of gangster-turned-terrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda, the DGP said. Rinda is believed to be in Pakistan.
Bhawra said the five arrested provided shelter, logistic support, and weapons to the perpetrators.
He said the three people responsible for firing the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) are still at large.
According to the DGP, Nishan Singh, an accused in this case, is already under the custody of the Faridkot police in another case. He will be arrested in this case as well, he said.
Nishan Singh faces multiple criminal charges, including one related to an attempted murder and another under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The state police intelligence wing headquarters in Mohali’s Sector 77 was attacked on Monday with a rocket-propelled grenade.
As a result of the explosion, windowpanes on one floor of the building were shattered. No one was injured.
Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab Chief Minister, said those who try to spoil the atmosphere of the state will be punished harshly.
The incident was viewed as a major intelligence failure since the building houses the state counter-intelligence wing, the special task force, the anti-gangster task force, and some other units.
In Tarn Taran district of Punjab, two people were arrested after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) packed with 1.5 kg of RDX was recovered. Days earlier, four suspected Pakistan-linked terrorists were captured in Karnal.
