Chandigarh grenade attack: NIA gets production warrants of 2 accused
Allowing NIA’s application for custody of accused Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, the court of special NIA judge Alka Malik directed the superintendent of Model Jail to present the duo before court on February 25 when it will decide on the length of custody to be granted to NIA
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Wednesday granted production warrants to NIA to take custody of two accused in the Sector 10 grenade attack, currently lodged in Model Jail, Sector 51.
Allowing NIA’s application for custody of accused Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, the court of special NIA judge Alka Malik directed the superintendent of Model Jail to present the duo before court on February 25 when it will decide on the length of custody to be granted to NIA.
On September 11, 2024, a hand grenade was lobbed at a house in Sector 10-D. After initial probe by Chandigarh and Punjab Police, the case was transferred to NIA for a broader investigation into the larger criminal conspiracy involving cross-border connections.
Police had claimed that the grenade attack was carried out at the behest of Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia, a gangster-turned-terrorist currently based in the US, and Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda.
As per police, the attack was targeted at retired SP Jaskirat Singh Chahal, who was the SHO in Nakodar in 1986, when four Sikh protesters were killed in police firing. Until two years ago before the September attack, Chahal had been living on rent on the first floor of the Sector 10 house.
As per police, Rohan and Vishal had come in an auto-rickshaw to lob a grenade at the house and both were later arrested. Aged 19, both hail from economically deprived backgrounds and had carried out the attack under the influence and promises made by Passia. Both were drug addicts and school dropouts, and were promised a hefty reward of over ₹5 lakh along with a ticket to Canada via Dubai once their “task” was completed.
So far, five individuals have been arrested in connection with the case: Rohan, Vishal, Amarjit Singh, Akashdeep Singh and the auto driver who transported them, Kuldeep Singh.
NIA’s probe aims to identify additional links in the network, particularly focusing on how weapons and explosives were smuggled across borders.
