The suspect in the Ludhiana court blast in Punjab has been identified as a suspended former police constable.
Divya Goyal, Navjeevan Gopal
Ludhiana blast suspect was sacked cop, tattoo helped identify his body: Body recovered from Ludhiana district court on the basis of body, tattoo and mobile phone Based on the case, a senior police officer has been identified as a former Punjab police chief who was sacked in 2019 in a drug smuggling case. Told the Express. The case against him came up for hearing on Friday.
The deceased has been identified as Kagandeep Singh, 30, a resident of Lalheri Road in Kanna, the official said. “He was removed from service after his arrest in August 2019 and was jailed for two years before being released on bail in September this year,” said another senior official from Khanna.
The trial of the case was held on Friday in the presence of Ludhiana Additional Sessions Judge Shatin Goyal. Police are investigating why he came to court a day before the trial.
When contacted by Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukjinder Singh Randhawa, he confirmed that the identity of the deceased had been ascertained. “He was identified after a tattoo on his body and a mobile phone was recovered from the spot,” said Sukjinder Singh Randhawa.
According to police sources, the tattoo depicts the Sikh religious symbol “Kanda”.
In the blast on Thursday, six more people were injured, Ludhiana Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Fuller said, adding that police believe the man was carrying bombs on his body or planning to plant them. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a bathroom on the second floor of the courthouse.
According to a Kannada police officer, Kaki Deep Singh, a Kaki, was arrested on August 11, 2019 after his accomplices Amandeep Singh and Vikas Kumar allegedly seized 400 grams of heroin from a car traveling in Ludhiana Sector 39. An FIR was registered by the Anti-Drug STF in Mohali under strict sections of the NDPS Act.
During interrogation, the officer said they were told that the drugs were obtained from Kagandeep Singh from Delhi. Police arrested Kagandeep and seized 385 grams of heroin from him.
An official in Ludhiana who was part of the team that arrested Kagandeep said: He joined the police force eight years ago (in 2011) and was promoted to Chief Constable. He was married in Kannada eight months before his arrest. At trial, he said he started selling drugs to small business owners and drug addicts six months ago.
Police sources said that Kagandeep jail is suspected to have links with militants and is investigating whether it is related to next year’s Punjab elections and the blasts. They said the NIA team went to Gangandeep’s house in Kanna on Friday evening after his family identified him.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Saranjit Singh Sunny had said that the probe into the blast would be linked to investigations into the assassination attempt at the Golden Temple and the FIR registered against SAD chief Bikram Singh Majidiya.
On Friday, Union Law and Justice Minister Kiran Rijiju visited the Ludhiana court complex and said the federal and state governments would work together to ensure “strong action against the perpetrators” behind the bombing. Minister Rijiju said that politics should not be played on important issues and that Chief Minister Sunny had promised full support in the investigation.
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