Why is NIA conducting searches in Punjab's border districts related to the Amritsar blast case?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
New Delhi, Jan 22 (NationPress) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) executed a coordinated operation on Thursday, conducting searches across various sites in three border districts of Punjab as part of its ongoing inquiry into the 2025 Amritsar temple grenade terror attack.
Numerous incriminating items, such as mobile phones, digital gadgets, and pertinent documents, were confiscated during the operation at 10 different locations in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Gurdaspur districts.
An explosion transpired outside the Thakur Dwara Sanatan Temple at Khandwala on Sher Shah Road in Amritsar on the night of March 14 last year.
Investigations by the NIA revealed that the attack was orchestrated under the guidance of several foreign-based handlers who had supplied explosives and weapons to instigate terror in the area.
This temple attack was one of many grenade assaults executed by operatives from various terror factions in Punjab as part of a broader conspiracy. The NIA's ongoing investigation further uncovered that these foreign handlers had been actively recruiting and financing numerous individuals within India to facilitate these grenade assaults.
After taking over the investigation from the state police, the anti-terror agency identified that the grenade was thrown at the Amritsar temple by suspects Vishal and Gursidak. While Vishal has been apprehended by the NIA, Gursidak is now deceased.
The pair obtained the explosives from Sharanjeet Kumar of Qadian, Batala, who subsequently fled to Jharkhand and Bihar, where he was later apprehended by the NIA in September.
Sharanjeet had received shipments of explosives and grenades from foreign handlers and concealed three hand grenades and one pistol, which the NIA later recovered from a site in Gurdaspur district.
The agency is relentlessly pursuing its mission to dismantle terror modules that pose a threat to the security and sovereignty of the nation.