CHANDIGARH: A 21-year-old lady and a man from Gurdaspur, Punjab, have been arrested in connection with the blast on a railway track in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan on November 3. Investigators are probing suspected links to Pakistan-based handlers.
The arrests were made on November 14 following a joint operation by Rajasthan ATS and Sri Ganganagar police in coordination with Punjab Counter Intelligence and Gurdaspur police.
A team led by probationary IPS officer Nitin Chaudhary, the investigating officer, and ATS Bikaner unit in-charge Surendra Kumar visited Punjab.
The Rajasthan team shared intelligence and technical inputs with Counter Intelligence (Punjab) and Senior Superintendent of Police of Gurdaspur, Aditya, before the two suspects were detained and arrested.
Sources said that the alleged accused, identified as Mahakdeep Kaur and Davinder Singh, both residents of Gurdaspur, were arrested after a sustained investigation and coordination with Rajasthan Police.
Kaur was allegedly in contact with two Pakistan-based handlers identified by the names 'Chacha' and 'Shah'.
The investigators suspect that the handlers used romantic conversations and financial incentives to recruit her.
She allegedly received money to carry out the explosion.
She was living separately from her husband, Karanveer Singh, who had earlier been arrested in a narcotics smuggling case by Punjab Police. He is currently lodged in jail.
Following his arrest, Kaur allegedly came in contact with Pakistan-based handlers. Police suspect that handlers may have targeted vulnerable women.
Kaur allegedly came in contact with Shah and was instructed by him and a person identified as Chacha, who police said was believed to have links with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI.
The accused allegedly received payments through online channels and were found following profiles of active gangsters on social media, police said, adding that the role of other persons, suspected contacts and financial transactions were being examined.
Police said the case has also brought to light a suspected trend of targeting women through romantic relationships and monetary inducements to recruit them for criminal activities.
Two foreign-made pistols, 46 live cartridges and Rs 30,000 allegedly received for carrying out the blast have been recovered from their possession, officials said.
Three other individuals have also been detained on suspicion of providing logistical support to the operation. They allegedly arranged accommodation, a motorcycle and transport to the blast site.
Under the direction of Additional DGP of Rajasthan Police, Dinesh M N, a joint team was constituted under Sri Ganganagar Superintendent of Police Harishankar.
The team collected inputs from central investigating agencies and analysed technical information and social media accounts of suspects. The blast took place around 9.45 pm on November 3 near Ramsinghpur on the Anupgarh-Suratgarh railway line.
It damaged the tracks, broke railway sleepers and left a crater at the site. A passenger train had passed through the stretch about 75 minutes before the explosion.
Rajasthan Police have alleged possible links to Pakistan's intelligence network, although these connections are still under investigation.
According to the investigation, the accused had initially planned to carry out an explosion on October 6 in the Ramsinghpur area, but could not execute it due to the non-availability of an explosive device.
A timer bomb allegedly provided by Shah was subsequently placed on the railway track on October 12-13, but failed to explode due to technical defects, police said.