Police name 3rd accused, also a Dera Sacha Sauda follower; no arrest yet

BATHINDA: A month after it named two Dera Sacha Sauda disciples as accused in the January 31, 2017, Maur bomb blasts, the special investigating team (SIT) in the case is yet to make any arrest. The twin blasts had claimed the life of seven people.

On Monday, the police told the court of Talwandi Sabo judicial magistrate Class-1 that it had identified another dera follower, Avtar Singh, of Massimajra village near Pehowa in Haryana, as the third accused.

The cops failed to produce the two men it had previously named — Gurtej Kala of Dabwali in Sirsa district, Haryana, and Amrik Singh of Bhikhi in Mansa district — in court. They submitted that the three accused were absconding. A SIT member said Avtar was an electrician, who had helped in fixing batteries to the bomb device in the Maruti car.

The court has issued fresh arrest warrants for the three to be produced before it on March 22, the next date of hearing.

DIG (counter intelligence) Ranbir Singh Khatra said efforts were on to nab the three accused. “We will attach their properties after they are declared proclaimed offenders in case of their non-arrest by the next date of hearing (March 22),” he added.

The identities of the three accused had been revealed after four other ‘dera’ disciples were produced as prosecution witnesses in court on February 8. The four worked at the motor workshop inside ‘dera’ premises and are said to have repainted and repaired the car used in the blasts.

The blasts occurred during campaigning for assembly polls with Congress candidate Harminder Jassi, having a narrow escape.