A PRO-KHALISTAN terror module carried out a late-night blast at a freight corridor railway track near the Shambhu area in Patiala, in which one of its members was killed while attempting to detonate the explosives, police said on Tuesday, adding that four members of the module have been arrested. The explosion, which occurred on Monday night on the Shambhu-Ambala rail track, was initially described as a low-intensity blast. However, an investigation later determined it was an attempt to blow up the track, police stated. The explosion occurred near Bothonia village on the rail track dedicated to freight trains, causing damage and leaving a small crater beneath the railway line, police said. Noting that the incident marks the second blast at a freight corridor in the past three months, a senior police officer indicated that a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the matter is likely. Police found an unidentified body, which had been blown into pieces, at the scene. Parts of the body were scattered along the railway track. The person who was trying to carry out the detonation died in the attempt, Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said. Police identified the deceased suspect as Jagrup Singh, a resident of Panjwar village in Tarn Taran district. CCTV footage captured Jagrup parking his motorcycle in Amritsar, according to Special Director General of Police (Railway) Shashi Prabha Dwivedi, who visited the explosion site.

 

Deputy Inspector General of Police Kuldeep Chahal stated that the four arrested individuals are Pardeep Singh Khalsa, a resident of Mansa; Kulwinder Singh, also from Mansa; and Satnam Singh and Gurpreet Singh, both residents of Tarn Taran. Pardeep Khalsa was identified as the main kingpin of the module due to his close ties with Malaysia-based pro-Khalistan handlers. He sent radicalised youth to Malaysia for terror training and assigned them tasks for carrying out terror activities, the DIG said, adding that Pardeep was also running a radical organisation named ‘Chalda Vaheer Chakarwarti, Attariye.’ Police recovered a hand grenade, two pistols, ammunition, other sophisticated communication devices intended for future detonations, and laptops from their possession, he added. Interacting with reporters at the incident site, Dwivedi said that as a goods train was passing at the time of the blast, the locomotive pilot sensed something unusual and raised an alarm, alerting authorities. Referring to some “anti-social elements who are against the progress of the country”, the officer said this was the second such attempt at a freight corridor. In response to questions about the NIA’s involvement, Dwivedi confirmed that due to the recurrence of such incidents, the NIA will most likely conduct an investigation. She also noted the absence of CCTV coverage in the area and emphasised the need to install cameras at regular intervals along the corridor. Meanwhile, SSP Varun Sharma said, “Late at night, we had received information about a low-intensity explosion at a railway track near the Shambhu-Haryana border.

 

Immediately, I, along with the Deputy Inspector General of Police and other senior officials, rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation. We found that it was not a low-intensity explosion but an attempted detonation.” Police also said they have recovered a SIM card from the spot. “After getting scientific evidence, including a SIM card from the spot, police have launched a technical investigation,” Sharma said, adding that he expects the entire controversy to be unravelled soon. He further said the Government Railway Police, the Railway Protection Force and other agencies are involved in the investigation. Following the blast, a forensic team, along with a bomb disposal squad and other officers, arrived at the location. A Government Railway Police official confirmed that repair work on the railway track has been completed and rail traffic has been restored. Earlier in January, a blast on a dedicated freight corridor railway track in Fatehgarh Sahib’s Sirhind area damaged a train’s engine and injured a locomotive pilot.