Rajasthan rail blast: ATS arrests two in Punjab, probe claims Pakistan link
Preliminary probe links the accused to Pakistan-based handlers who supplied timer bombs for the Ramsinghpur blast after an earlier failed attempt in October
Jaipur, Nov 15 (PTI) Two alleged accused in the November 3 railway track blast in Ramsinghpur from were arrested from Punjab's Gurdaspur, with preliminary investigation indicating their links with Pakistani handlers, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Mahakdeep Kaur and Devendra Singh, were arrested in a joint operation of Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Sri Ganganagar police.
According to the police, Kaur was allegedly in contact with a Pakistani handler identified as Shah and had conspired with her associate to carry out the explosion on railway tracks in Ramsinghpur police station area.
Two foreign-made pistols, 46 live cartridges and Rs 30,000 allegedly received for carrying out the blast have been recovered from their possession, officials said.
The arrests were made on November 14 following a joint operation by Rajasthan ATS and Sri Ganganagar police in coordination with Punjab Counter Intelligence and Gurdaspur police.
Under the direction of ADGP Dinesh M N, a joint team was constituted under Sri Ganganagar SP Harishankar. The team collected inputs from central investigating agencies and analysed technical information and social media accounts of suspects.
The investigation pointed towards the involvement of Mahakdeep Kaur and Devendra Singh, residents of Gurdaspur. A team led by probationary IPS officer Nitin Chaudhary, the investigating officer, and ATS Bikaner unit in-charge Surendra Kumar was subsequently sent to Punjab.
The Rajasthan team shared intelligence and technical inputs with Counter Intelligence Punjab and Gurdaspur SSP Aditya before the two suspects were detained and arrested following questioning.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Kaur's husband, Karanveer Singh, had earlier been arrested in Punjab in a narcotics smuggling case.
Following his arrest, Kaur allegedly came in contact with Pakistan-based handlers, police said.
Investigators have identified a Pakistani handler named Shah and another person referred to as 'Chacha' in Pakistan as allegedly directing the accused to execute the railway track blast.
According to the investigation, the accused had initially planned to carry out an explosion on October 6 in the Ramsinghpur area, but could not execute it due to the non-availability of an explosive device.
A timer bomb allegedly provided by Shah was subsequently placed on the railway track on October 12-13, but failed to explode due to technical defects, police said.
The blast was finally carried out on November 3 at around 9.45 pm using another timer bomb allegedly supplied by the Pakistani handler.
Investigators believe the Ramsinghpur area was selected with the intention of avoiding suspicion by using a woman to execute the operation, officials said.
The accused allegedly received payments through online channels and were found following profiles of active gangsters on social media, police said, adding that the role of other persons, suspected contacts and financial transactions was being examined.
Police said the case has also brought to light a suspected trend of targeting women through romantic relationships and monetary inducements to recruit them for criminal activities.
Kaur allegedly came in contact with Shah and was instructed by him and a person identified as Chacha, who police said was believed to have links with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI.
ATS had earlier arrested a woman identified as Babita from Gangapur City, who was allegedly lured into contact with Pakistani agents through a romantic relationship, police said.
The two arrested accused are being questioned in connection with FIR registered at Ramsinghpur police station.
Further investigation is underway to identify other persons involved in the alleged network and establish the extent of their links with Pakistan-based handlers.
Rajasthan Police has appealed to people to stay away from suspicious social media accounts and contacts associated with Pakistan-based handlers and criminal gangsters and report any suspicious activity to the concerned agencies.
Information related to gangsters, anti-national activities or criminal acts can be shared with Rajasthan ATS through its control room number 0141-2601583 or WhatsApp number 9001999070. Police said the identity of informants would be kept confidential. PTI