Suspect Avtar’s link with parallel jathedar Ajnala under scanner
AMRITSAR GRENADE BLAST Sikh preacher denies any association with the youth, who is on the run
CHANDIGARH : The Punjab Police team probing the blast at Nirankari Satsang Bhawan near Amritsar is looking into the link between Avtar Singh (28), who allegedly hurled a grenade on a congregation on Sunday, and parallel jathedar Amrik Singh Ajnala.
Ajnala, who is actively participating in the Bargari protest against the 2015 sacrilege incidents and police firing, was appointed parallel jathedar of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib by Sarbat Khalsa in 2015. He heads the breakaway faction of Damdami Taksal.
While Avtar, a resident of Chakk Mishri Khan in Ajnala sub-division, is on the run, the second blast suspect Bikramjit Singh (26) of Amritsar’s Dhariwal village, has been arrested.
The development comes after it emerged that Avtar is a staunch follower of Ajnala. “Avtar’s association with the taksal (seminary) run by the parallel jathedar is very close. Avtar’s father, who had deserted the Indian Army in protest against the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, was also baptised by the pro-Khalistan Sikh preacher active in the area,” said a senior police official investigating the case.
The probe has revealed that Avtar had also attended the Bargari protest many times with the Ajnala’s followers.
“Some followers of the seminary have been rounded up by our team. We may question the seminary head in the case, if the need be,” said a senior police official. Ajnala denied knowing any of the blast suspects. “All these claims are false. I run a taksal (seminary) which is attended by many students daily. People from all walks of life visit us daily. I don’t know who told you about this,” he said.
The police claimed Avtar is hiding somewhere in the Majha region. Raids at some villages were carried out on Wednesday night after getting leads about his possible whereabouts.
ROLE OF HIS RELATIVE ALSO BEING PROBED
Police said Avtar got in touch with the blast mastermind and self-styled commander of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), Harmeet Singh ‘PhD’, through a close relative who is in Australian city of Melbourne on study visa and is also believed to have been radicalised.
He is learnt to be in touch with Harmeet, who is based in Pakistan and decides on targets and arranges weapons for the terror modules.
Bikramjit told the police that Avtar was not in touch with Harmeet directly.
Bikramjit has disclosed that Avtar called him on the November 3 night and asked him to be ready for an assignment the next morning. Avtar reached his house early morning and they left on Bikramjit’s motorcycle to retrieve an HE-84 hand grenade and a 0.30 bore pistol buried under a shisham tree in an orchard on the Majitha-Hariyan link road.
Bikramjit has also revealed that he was trained to throw grenade through video conferencing. became friends.