Bathinda: Punjab Police on Tuesday said they had arrested 17 suspects, including four women, in connection with the grenade attack on the Moga Sadar police station earlier this month. The operation also led to the alleged foiling of a planned improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a train travelling between Ferozepur and Jammu.
According to police, three of the arrested individuals were directly involved in the grenade attack on the police station on July 8. During the operation, investigators also recovered an IED that was allegedly intended for the proposed train blast, along with a 9mm Glock pistol.
Faridkot Range Inspector General (IG) Jagadale Nilambari Vijay said the grenade attack was allegedly masterminded by Ravi Dhaliwal, also known as Iqbal, a foreign-based handler. She said the explosives and firearm were supplied through his cousin, a resident of Ferozepur district.
Police believe the IED and pistol were smuggled into India from Pakistan using the “dead letterbox” method, a covert technique in which contraband is hidden at a predetermined location for later collection. The consignments were allegedly routed through border areas in Amritsar and Jalalabad.
Addressing the media, IG Vijay and Moga Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sartaj Singh Chahal said that 10 police teams were formed to investigate the grenade attack. The teams arrested three suspects—identified as Gagan, Rajesh and Shubham, all from Ferozepur district—who are alleged to have hurled the grenade at the Moga Sadar police station at around 3.15 am on July 8.
During the investigation, police found that a Ferozepur resident identified as Lajar and his wife, Parveen Kaur, had allegedly established contact with the three accused and supplied them with the IED and the pistol. According to police, Lajar had received the explosive device before passing it on to the suspects.
Investigators further alleged that the detonating and triggering mechanisms for the IED were also procured from across the border.
Police said the foreign-based handler had instructed the accused to carry out an explosion on a train operating between Ferozepur and Jammu. However, the suspects were arrested before the alleged plan could be executed.
The four arrested women are accused of providing logistical support or shelter to the main suspects. Police said all those arrested are either relatives or close acquaintances of one another.
Further investigation into the case is underway.
