1 week Ago By Moneycontrol
Punjab Police on April 8 has arrested two people in connection with a blast at Punjab BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia's residence in Jalandhar. A senior police officer said the attackers were caught within 12 hours of the incident. They also found the e-rickshaw used in the attack.
According to the police, Zeeshan Akhtar, who is closely associated with the imprisoned gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is the mastermind behind the grenade attack in Jalandhar. Addressing the media here, Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said that the attack was aimed at disturbing communal peace. He also mentioned that Zeeshan Akhtar is a key suspect in the high-profile murder case of NCP leader Baba Siddiqui.
"It was a major conspiracy of Pakistan's ISI. Zeeshan Akhtar, who is an associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and (Pakistani gangster) Shahzad Bhatti, they had hatched a conspiracy," said Shukla. He further added that the investigation is looking into possible connections with Babbar Khalsa International and that the Punjab Police is working closely with central agencies.
A blast at Kalia's residence in Jalandhar early Tuesday damaged an aluminum partition, shattered glass windows of his home, his SUV and a motorcycle in the courtyard. No one was hurt, police said. Kalia, who is a former Cabinet minister and the ex-president of Punjab BJP, was at home when the explosion happened.
Earlier, Kalia responded to the blast outside his Jalandhar residence, explaining that he was asleep at the time and initially thought the sound was thunder. According to reports, the blast occurred around 1 am outside his house. “There was a blast at around 1 am.
I was sleeping, and I thought that it was the sound of thunder. Later, I was informed that a blast had taken place. Following this, I sent my gunman to the police station.
CCTV is being investigated and forensic experts are also present here. Soon, the details of the probe will come out," Kalia said. There have been several explosions targeting police posts in Amritsar and Gurdaspur over the past four to five months, but this is the first time a prominent politician's residence has been attacked.
Last month, a blast occurred outside a temple in Amritsar..
