Chandigarh, 05 April (H.S.): In a major breakthrough in the Chandigarh grenade blast case, Punjab Police’s Counter Intelligence wing, in a joint operation with Chandigarh Police and with support from Haryana Police, has arrested the two main perpetrators from Rewari in Haryana. With these arrests, the total number of accused held in the case has risen to seven.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the arrested individuals have been identified as Gurtej Singh and Amanpreet Singh, both residents of Rattangarh in Rupnagar district. Amanpreet Singh has a prior criminal record, with cases of theft and snatching registered against him in SAS Nagar and Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh).

The arrests come a day after five other accused Balwinder Lal alias Shami, Jasvir Singh alias Jassi, Charanjit Singh alias Channi, Rubal Chauhan and Mandeep alias Abhijot Sharma were apprehended. Police had also recovered a hand grenade and a .30 bore Zigana pistol from their possession.

Addressing a press conference, DGP Gaurav Yadav stated that all seven accused involved in the case are now in police custody. He was accompanied by senior officials including ADGP Counter Intelligence Amit Prasad, ADGP Internal Security SK Verma, IGP Intelligence Dr. Sukhchain Singh Gill and AIG SSOC SAS Nagar Deepak Pareek.

According to the investigation, the accused were working under the direction of ISI-backed foreign-based handlers. These handlers have been identified as Baljot Singh alias Jot, based in Portugal, and Harjeet Singh Laadi, based in Germany. The accused were allegedly promised a reward of ₹2 lakh for executing the grenade attack.

The police revealed that the accused used multiple cutouts and sub modules to carry out the attack in a coordinated manner. Gurtej Singh reportedly came in contact with a foreign handler around six months ago through social media. Acting on instructions, he, along with Rubal Chauhan and Mandeep alias Abhijot Sharma, collected a consignment of arms and grenades from Jasvir alias Jassi at Bharapur village in SBS Nagar on March 28, 2026.

DGP Yadav further said that on April 1, after conducting a recce of the target location, Amanpreet Singh hurled a hand grenade outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Sector 37, Chandigarh. Gurtej Singh recorded the entire act on his mobile phone as instructed by the handlers. Both accused fled the scene immediately after the attack.

The DGP appreciated the coordinated efforts of Chandigarh Police and the Special Task Force (STF) of Haryana Police in cracking the case. He reiterated that Punjab Police remains committed to ensuring law and order and will continue to take strict action against such anti-national and criminal networks.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH