JALANDHAR/CHANDIGARH: A grenade explosion targeting the Jalandhar residence of BJP national executive member Manoranjan Kalia Tuesday - the 22nd 'terror strike' in Punjab since last Sept - triggered a trail of conspiracy theories linking ISI and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to the attack and prompted the govt to shunt out state intelligence chief R K Jaiswal.
Two suspects, identified as Jalandhar residents Harry and Satish Kumar, alias Kaka, were arrested on charges of lobbing the grenade at Kalia's house from an e-rickshaw. A third is on the run.
Police said they were acting at the behest of an ISI-backed terror module involving Zeeshan Akhtar, an associate of jailed gangster Bishnoi, and Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti.
BJP neta Manoranjan Kalia, who was at his Jalandhar home when the grenade attack occurred around 1.03am on Tuesday, initially mistook it for a transformer blast.
It was only when he saw dust and smoke in the courtyard that the BJP functionary realised something was amiss.
The ex-minister's Innova, a parked motorbike, an aluminium door and some glass windows were damaged in the explosion.
"I called the commissioner of police and the ACP, but they did not take my calls. So, I sent my security guard to the police station barely 300 yards from my home to report the blast," Kalia said.
Suspected mastermind Zeeshan, whose roots are in Shankar village of Jalandhar's Nakodar subdivision, is an accused in the Oct 12, 2024 murder of former Maharashtra minister and NCP functionary Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
He is also a suspect in a March 16 grenade attack on the house of UK-based social media influencer Navdeep Singh Roger Sandhu's in-laws in Jalandhar's Raipur Rasoolpur. On that occasion, the grenade didn't explode.
Bhatti named Zeeshan and gangster Happy Passia, who is believed to be based in the US and has links with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Harwinder Rinda, as his accomplices in the attack targeting the house of Sandhu's in-laws. He accused Sandhu of producing social media content denigrating Islam.
In June 2024, a purported video call between Bhatti and Bishnoi surfaced online, reinforcing suspicions about their collaboration. This Feb, another video showed Zeeshan addressing Bhatti as "an elder brother" and thanking him for assisting in his escape from India.
A senior police officer said Zeeshan was possibly in Europe.
Before allegedly orchestrating the grenade attack on Kalia's residence, Zeeshan had at least 10 criminal cases filed against him between Sep 3, 2021, and March 16 this year for offences ranging from murder to violation of the Arms Act. Zeeshan, whose aliases include Mohammad Jaseen, Jaisy Silander and Jazzy, is 21 and has served time in jails in Punjab.
At a presser in Chandigarh, Punjab's special DGP (law & order) Arpit Shukla said police cracked the grenade attack case within 12 hours. He said investigators were verifying leads about the suspects having links with Pakistan-based BKI and gangster Happy Passia.
An FIR was registered under sections 109 (attempt to murder), 324 (3) (mischief causing loss or damage to any property) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the new penal code BNS and the Explosive Substances Act.
BJP and AAP jousted over the attack on Kalia's home, with the saffron party demanding CM Bhagwant Mann's resignation. BJP workers staged a protest in Patiala to condemn the attack. Minister Mohinder Bhagat, who visited the BJP national executive member's house, blamed the Union govt for "activities orchestrated by Lawrence Bishnoi from jail in collaboration with Pakistan".
Late Tuesday, Praveen Kumar Sinha, a 1994-batch IPS officer and additional DGP, was named as Punjab's new intelligence chief. The home department's order mentioned that incumbent Jaiswal's new posting would be announced later.
Two suspects, identified as Jalandhar residents Harry and Satish Kumar, alias Kaka, were arrested on charges of lobbing the grenade at Kalia's house from an e-rickshaw. A third is on the run.
Police said they were acting at the behest of an ISI-backed terror module involving Zeeshan Akhtar, an associate of jailed gangster Bishnoi, and Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti.
BJP neta Manoranjan Kalia, who was at his Jalandhar home when the grenade attack occurred around 1.03am on Tuesday, initially mistook it for a transformer blast.
It was only when he saw dust and smoke in the courtyard that the BJP functionary realised something was amiss.
The ex-minister's Innova, a parked motorbike, an aluminium door and some glass windows were damaged in the explosion.
"I called the commissioner of police and the ACP, but they did not take my calls. So, I sent my security guard to the police station barely 300 yards from my home to report the blast," Kalia said.
Suspected mastermind Zeeshan, whose roots are in Shankar village of Jalandhar's Nakodar subdivision, is an accused in the Oct 12, 2024 murder of former Maharashtra minister and NCP functionary Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
He is also a suspect in a March 16 grenade attack on the house of UK-based social media influencer Navdeep Singh Roger Sandhu's in-laws in Jalandhar's Raipur Rasoolpur. On that occasion, the grenade didn't explode.
Bhatti named Zeeshan and gangster Happy Passia, who is believed to be based in the US and has links with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Harwinder Rinda, as his accomplices in the attack targeting the house of Sandhu's in-laws. He accused Sandhu of producing social media content denigrating Islam.
In June 2024, a purported video call between Bhatti and Bishnoi surfaced online, reinforcing suspicions about their collaboration. This Feb, another video showed Zeeshan addressing Bhatti as "an elder brother" and thanking him for assisting in his escape from India.
A senior police officer said Zeeshan was possibly in Europe.
Before allegedly orchestrating the grenade attack on Kalia's residence, Zeeshan had at least 10 criminal cases filed against him between Sep 3, 2021, and March 16 this year for offences ranging from murder to violation of the Arms Act. Zeeshan, whose aliases include Mohammad Jaseen, Jaisy Silander and Jazzy, is 21 and has served time in jails in Punjab.
At a presser in Chandigarh, Punjab's special DGP (law & order) Arpit Shukla said police cracked the grenade attack case within 12 hours. He said investigators were verifying leads about the suspects having links with Pakistan-based BKI and gangster Happy Passia.
An FIR was registered under sections 109 (attempt to murder), 324 (3) (mischief causing loss or damage to any property) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the new penal code BNS and the Explosive Substances Act.
BJP and AAP jousted over the attack on Kalia's home, with the saffron party demanding CM Bhagwant Mann's resignation. BJP workers staged a protest in Patiala to condemn the attack. Minister Mohinder Bhagat, who visited the BJP national executive member's house, blamed the Union govt for "activities orchestrated by Lawrence Bishnoi from jail in collaboration with Pakistan".
Late Tuesday, Praveen Kumar Sinha, a 1994-batch IPS officer and additional DGP, was named as Punjab's new intelligence chief. The home department's order mentioned that incumbent Jaiswal's new posting would be announced later.
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