35-year-old man wanted in Amritsar temple grenade attack arrested in Bihar

GAya: A 35-year-old adult male wanted for the grenade assail on the Thakur Dwara temple in Amritsar was arrested on fri eve from a roadside eatery on carry amelia moore nation Highway-19 (GT Road) in Bihar’s Gaya Ji district.A motorcycle-borne masked men had carried out the grenade attack on the temple on Sher Shah Suri Road in the Khandwala area on March 15. Though no one was injured, the blast damaged the walls and shattered the windowpanes of the temple, triggering panic in the area.A case under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, Explosive Substances Act, and other relevant provisions was registered.According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Sharanjit Kumar, alias Sunny, a resident of Bhaini Bangar village under the jurisdiction of Batala police station in Gurdaspur, Punjab, was found to be actively involved in the conspiracy and execution of the terror attack that took place in the early hours of March 15.“The grenade attack was carried out by two bike-borne assailants, Gursidak Singh and Vishal Gill, who were working under the directions of foreign-based handlers,” a statement issued by the NIA said.The NIA investigations revealed a conspiracy by handlers with a transnational presence in Europe, the USA, and Canada. The counter-terror agency further found that the handlers had provided terror hardware, funds, logistical support, and target details to their on-ground operatives in India, the NIA said.A consignment of four grenades was received by Sharanjit from another arrested accused in Batala, Gurdaspur, on March 1. He, in turn, handed over one grenade to the assailants, Gursidak Singh and Vishal, just two days before the attack, the NIA added.Gursidak alias Sidak, was killed in an exchange of fire with police at Bal Sachander village near Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport on March 17.“Sharanjit had absconded from Batala. He was finally traced to Gaya, where he was living in disguise as a truck driver after extensive investigation based on human and technical intelligence,” the NIA release said.After monitoring his movement for several days, the NIA zeroed in on his location at a roadside eatery on NH 19 near Gopalpur village in the Sherghati police station area and arrested him on Friday with the help of local police.“The NIA team took the arrested accused to Chandigarh on Saturday after taking transit remand from a Sherghati Court,” assistant superintendent of police Shailendra Singh said.