The Germany-Pakistan connection to the Ludhiana blast

New Delhi, Dec 27: While it has been ascertained that a rogue cop had planted the bomb in the Ludhiana Court, further probe has revealed that the attack was part of a much larger plan.

The Intelligence agencies have learnt that a Germany based Khalistan terrorist and another from the Babbar Khalsa in Pakistan had planned this attack after being tasked by the ISI.

The Babbar Khalsa terrorist who is currently in Pakistan has been identified as Harvinder Singh Sandhu, while the Khalistan supporter based in Germany is Jaswinder SIngh Multani.

Both had coordinated with each other and planned the attack. The attack was first of the many other acts of terror they had planned to destabilise Punjab, an Intelligence Bureau official told OneIndia.

Sandhu according to the IB official is also wanted in scores of cases that include cross border smuggling. Sandhu is wanted in 30 different cases that include murder, smuggling of arms and ammunition, drug peddling etc.

Siddharth Chattopadhyay, the state police chief said that the accused Gagandeep probably met with some people including Khalistani elements and drug smugglers while he was in jail. He had very good technical skills and the initial inquiry reveals that he had gone inside the washroom to assemble the bomb. We also have strong leads that the narco-terrorists and pro-Khalistani elements are behind this attack, he also said.

The suspect was identified as a Gagandeep Singh alias Gaggi. He was dismissed from service in 2019 for his alleged involvement in drug peddling. He was posted as the head constable at a police station in Khanna at the time of him being dismissed. The drug peddling case was investigated by the Ludhiana unit of the Special Task Force.

The former cop had spent 25 months in jail before getting bail on September 8. The hearing in the case was scheduled to be held on Friday, but the matter was adjourned to February 2022.

The investigators would now look into whether Gaggi was tasked by the ISI's Khalistan network in Germany to carry out this attack. Moreover Gaggi could have been roped in easily as he had a personal interest as his hearing in the drug case was coming on Friday. He also had a personal interest in carrying out the blast as he may have been looking to destroy documents relating to his case.

A report in the Hindustan Times says that the ISI had tasked Jaswinder Multani , a Germany based pro-Khalistan terrorist to carry out this blast. Multani has a strong network within India has been in the business of supplying arms and ammunition through his contacts in the ISI.

Punjab has been witnessing some violent incidents in the recent past. They include lynching, targeted killings of Hindus and bomb blasts. These incidents are being reported at a time when the Intelligence has over the many years warned about the Khalistan terrorists wanting to make a return to the state, which had once handled the problem exceptionally well and driven them out.

Meanwhile the National Security Guards have found that the explosives were very powerful. The agency also learnt that the bomb exploded accidentally when it was being assembled. Investigations found aluminium and plastic shrapnels in the body of the deceased and the nature of the explosives clearly indicated that had the explosion taken place as planned, it would have had a devastating effect.