CHANDIGARH: A contingent of the Indian Army today reached Jeeda village in Bathinda to defuse explosives stored in the house of 19-year-old Gurpreet Singh, a ‘self-radicalised’ youth, after two high-intensity explosions took place at his residence on September 10.
The blasts left the accused Gurpreet and his father, Jagtar Singh, injured. In preliminary questioning, the Punjab Police have claimed that Gurpreet, a law student, was influenced by radical Islamic ideologies and was planning a fidayeen attack.
Sources said the police learnt about the blast a day later, after Gurpreet was admitted by his family to a private hospital and the hospital staff alerted the police about the nature of his injuries. Gurpreet’s right hand had to be amputated due to the explosion, while his father, a farmer, suffered severe injuries in the second blast.
An officer, on condition of anonymity, claimed that Gurpreet was influenced by Pakistan-based propaganda videos which alleged that Kashmiris were being harassed and humiliated.
“Thus, he wanted revenge and planned to carry out a suicide attack. He was using a fake identity to follow Islamic radical content on social media,” the officer claimed.
Gurpreet was formally arrested on Wednesday after being discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bathinda and was produced before a district court via video conference.
Another police official said that an expert explosives team of the Indian Army had reached the village today and was defusing the explosives as they had their own equipment to do so.
“The accused Gurpreet was arrested when he was discharged from the hospital and yesterday we produced him in court and took a seven-day remand. We will now be questioning him on his motive to make the human bomb and plan the fidayeen attack, where he wanted to attack and if there were any other people he was in touch with. Also, who inspired him to do all this,” the official said.
Besides the Punjab Police, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Indian Army are investigating the matter, as officials from all the security agencies reached the village and gathered evidence.
Sources further added that Gurpreet was also treated at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh as he had a history of psychiatric issues.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Bathinda, Amneet Kondal, said that a multi-pocket vest was recovered from the house and the mobile phone of the alleged accused Gurpreet had clues hinting that he was planning a suicide attack.
She added that the accused was planning to travel by bus from Bathinda to Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir on September 11, which has a strategic base of the Indian Army.
“In the initial questioning, Gurpreet said that becoming a human bomb was on his mind and thus he purchased a wide range of explosive chemicals and the vest online. He mishandled the chemicals at his house and thus a high-intensity explosion took place last week on the eve of his scheduled travel to Kathua. Before he could undertake any operation, Gurpreet was indoctrinated,” she claimed.
She further said, “All we have found so far is that Gurpreet was influenced by watching digital content.”
She added that a deputy superintendent of police-rank official from Kathua had visited Bathinda to gather details of the case.