NIA files charge sheet against 3 KZF men in Punjab grenade attack case, 'foreign handlers' link unearthed
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against three individuals in a Special Court in connection with the grenade attack on a police post in Punjab's SBS Nagar district in 2024.
The counter-terrorism agency, in its findings, has tracked down the bombing of the police post to a major conspiracy by the banned Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terror outfit.
'Three accused -- Yugpreet Singh alias Yuvi Nihung, Jaskaran Singh alias Shah, and Harjot Singh alias Jot Hundal, all hailing from Rahon village in SBS Nagar, have been charged under various sections of UA(P) Act, Explosive Substances Act and other related provisions, said the agency in a statement on Sunday.
The NIA said that it has further launched investigations against KZF chief and Designated Individual Terrorist (DIT) Ranjit Singh alias Neeta, the outfit's member operative Jagjit Singh Lahiri alias Jagga alias Hari Singh (currently in the UK), and other unidentified terror operatives.
The police post was targeted by three individuals in 2024, with illicit support from foreign handlers who aided them with money and grenades, said reports.
The case was taken over by the NIA from the Punjab Police in March this year.
The agency in its statement further said, 'Jagga had recruited Yugpreet Singh through an acquaintance in the UK. Along with other KZF terrorists and operatives, Jagga had radicalised Yugpreet and handled him via encrypted messaging applications. Jagga had also provided Yugpreet with over Rs 4.36 lakh of terror funds through a complex chain of Canada-based entities, who have also been identified and examined.'
'Yugpreet had in turn recruited the other two chargesheeted accused, and the trio had carried out the attack at Police Post Asron during the night between 1st and 2nd December 2024. The three accused had been provided the grenade by their foreign-based handlers earlier in November 2024,' it further noted.
In another parallel investigation, the NIA recently conducted multiple raids at 15 locations in Punjab and Haryana, in connection with the January 2025 grenade attack at a police post in Amritsar.
A host of damning documents, including mobile phones and digital gadgets, were recovered from their custody.
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