Ludhiana Court Blast Suspect Wanted To Destroy Drugs Case Papers

Sources have said that a former policeman who was suspected to be the bomber in a court complex blast in Punjab's Ludhiana wanted to destroy records in a drugs case filed against him.

Gagandeep Singh, the suspect was killed in the blast. He was a head constable who was dismissed from service in 2019 and spent two years in jail following his arrest in a drug-trafficking case. He was released in September.

Sources have told NDTV that Gagandeep Singh was scheduled to appear in court in the drugs case filed against him. Sources further said that he made a plan to destroy the court records room where case papers were stored.

The former head constable was apparently assembling the bomb in a court bathroom when it went off. However, it is not yet known from where he got the material to make the improvised explosive device or IED.

The Indian Express reported that the blast caused a water pipe to burst, which washed away some residual explosives that could have come in handy as vital clues.

Two friends of Gagandeep Singh and his brother have been detained for questioning by the police and a laptop has been seized from his house.

Punjab DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya informed that they have managed to crack the case within 24 hours. Mr. Chattopadhyaya told reporters that, "It was a very powerful blast. We got many leads from the site. Initial assessment suggested that the dismissed policeman carried out the blast… He had developed links with Khalistani and mafia outfits."

Sources said that Gagandeep Singh's SIM card and a wireless dongle helped identify him and the family has confirmed that the body was of him.

There appeared to be no evidence of the involvement of Pakistani agencies or Khalistani groups in the blast and the disclosure bolstered Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's statement. Instead, the blast has ties to the drugs case in which former Minister Bikram Majithia has been named.

Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia was seeking advance bail after having been named in a case for allegedly allowing drug smuggling through the use of his property or conveyance, financing the distribution or sale of drugs, and criminal conspiracy for smuggling narcotics at the court hearing in Mohali.

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