Ludhiana blast accused had Pak links: DGP

Punjab DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya on Saturday said that the former state police head constable who was killed in the Ludhiana district court blast had links with Khalistani elements and terror outfits, and some Pakistan-based entities could be behind the incident.

Addressing the media here, the DGP said Gagandeep Singh, who was dismissed from service in 2019, had gone to the washroom to assemble the bomb and plant it somewhere. He was alone in the washroom when the bomb went off. Singh was posted as a ‘munshi’ at a police station in Khanna, his native city, and was sacked in connection with a drugs-related case, Chattopadhyaya.

He was arrested by the anti-drug special task force for carrying 385 grams of heroin and was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2019. He spent two years in jail and was currently out on bail. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for December 24, a day after the blast, the officer said.

Singh was killed and six others were injured in the blast that occurred in the court complex on Thursday. The Punjab government had declared a high alert in the state after the incident.

During his time in jail, Singh probably came in contact with some bad elements, the police said.

Citing the initial probe, Chattopadhyaya said Singh had links with Khalistani elements, both within Punjab and abroad, terror outfits, mafia groups as well as narcotic smugglers. To a question about Pakistan’s involvement in the blast, the DGP said the police have “full suspicion” but he could not say so conclusively.