Safety businesses in Punjab are investigating, amongst different leads, a possible Khalistani separatist hyperlink to an explosion that broken a railway observe and a freight prepare engine close to Sirhind, after a purported letter from a banned group surfaced on social media, HT has learnt.
The blast, which occurred on Friday night time simply days earlier than Republic Day, has triggered vital considerations concerning a coordinated sabotage try geared toward disrupting peace within the area, officers mentioned.
The explosion occurred at roughly 9:50 pm on Friday close to the Khanpur railway crossing in Fatehgarh Sahib district. The power of the blast was ample to destroy a three-to-four-foot stretch of the newly constructed devoted freight hall (DFC), and harm the engine of a passing prepare.
A security officer and the loco pilot sustained minor accidents and have been offered medical help. Native residents in Khanpur village reported listening to a “loud sound” that precipitated speedy panic throughout the realm.
Police sources have indicated to HT {that a} purported letter being circulated on social media within the identify of the Khalistan Zindabad Pressure (KZF) is among the many angles being probed. The letter, issued within the identify of the group’s “chief sevadar” Ranjit Singh Jammu, claims accountability for the Sirhind blast.
In response to the letter, written in Punjabi, the explosion was supposed as a “trailer” to mark the fortieth anniversary of the “Khalistan declaration”. It additional claimed that the group selected to focus on a freight prepare to “keep away from undue loss”, asserting they may have focused a passenger prepare as an alternative. The letter warned that their “wrestle” would proceed to “disturb the sleep” of the authorities till their objectives have been met.
Multi-agency probe launched
Deputy Inspector Normal (DIG), Ropar vary, Nanak Singh, who reached the location shortly after the incident, acknowledged that inter-agency coordination is underway.
“Our groups have already began the investigation, and we’ve got knowledgeable the Nationwide Investigation Company (NIA),” Nanak Singh mentioned. NIA and Intelligence Bureau officers are working with the state police, individuals aware of the matter advised HT.
Whereas police officers have to this point described the occasion because the “handiwork of some miscreants”, they’ve famous it was too untimely to verify the precise nature of the explosives used.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Shubham Aggarwal confirmed {that a} First Data Report (FIR) has been registered underneath Part 150 of the Railways Act for ‘maliciously making an attempt to wreck a prepare’.
Heightened safety forward of Republic Day
The incident follows a collection of actions allegedly by separatist components. In Delhi, the police’s Particular Cell just lately registered an FIR towards Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a chosen terrorist main the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for threatening to create unrest forward of January 26. Pannun claimed his “sleeper cells” had been activated within the nationwide capital.
Additionally, the Indian authorities just lately condemned an act of “vandalism and trespassing” at its embassy in Zagreb, Croatia, the place some individuals reportedly changed the Indian flag with a separatist flag.
In Sirhind, restore work was carried out on a war-footing in a single day, and the broken observe was restored by early Saturday morning, officers mentioned. Safety stays excessive throughout Punjab.
