Punjab: Army jawan held for training man who hurled grenade at YouTuber’s home

An army jawan has been arrested for allegedly training the accused who lobbed a hand grenade at the residence of a Jalandhar-based YouTuber on March 16, Punjab Police said on Thursday.

The accused has been identified as Sukhcharan Singh, 30, a resident of Muktsar, who had been recruited in the Army in 2015, and deployed with the 3rd Sikh Light Infantry in Jammu & Kashmir.

Jalandhar rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harvinder Singh Virk said that Sukhcharan’s name had surfaced during the interrogation of the main accused, Hardik Kamboj, who hurled the grenade at YouTuber Rozer Sandhu’s residence.

Though no casualties or damage to property were reported in the incident as the grenade did not explode, nine persons have so far been arrested in this case. Sukhcharan has also been nominated in the case.

A court in Jalandhar sent the Army jawan to a five-day police remand.

“Sukhcharan and Hardik had come in touch with each other through social media. Hardik revealed that Sukhcharan had provided training on removing the grenade pin via video calls,” the SSP said.

The SSP added that the army has been apprised about the jawan’s role in the matter, as per the procedure.

After the incident, Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti had claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was in retaliation to the YouTube’s alleged derogatory remarks against Islam.

Bhatti had also stated that Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar, wanted in the infamous killing of Maharastra legislator Baba Siddiqui last year, had helped him to carry the attack.

After the attack at Sandhu’s house, Bhatti had shared a video on his Instagram profile in which Hardik was purportedly being trained to remove the pin from the grenade at the crime spot itself. However as Hardik haphazardly hurled the grenade without removing the pin, it failed to detonate.

The SSP said that so far, nine persons have been arrested in this case and nine others, including Zeeshan and Bhatti, have been nominated in the matter.

The case comes close on the heels of a series of blasts in Punjab, targeting police establishments and residences of high-profile persons. Last month, a blast occurred outside a temple in Amritsar.

On April 8, a grenade blast had took place at the residence of BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar.

“The central agencies, including the National Investigation Agency, have been keeping close watch on the ongoing probe in this matter. However, the operational details could not be shared at this stage,” a senior police official said.

The SSP refused to comment if Sukhcharan had any role in the hand grenade blast that took place at the residence of BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar on April 8.

Hardik Kamboj, 21, who was arrested in Yamunanagar, was injured in police firing after he allegedly opened fire towards cops when taken for weapon recovery on March 18.

Police have also registered a case against 18 individuals under Sections of 109 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Sections 3,4, 5 of the Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at the Maqsudan police station.