NIA attaches properties of four accused in 2021 Ludhiana court blast case

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said it has attached five immovable properties belonging to four accused in the 2021 Ludhiana court complex bomb blast case.

The explosion had killed the improvised explosive device (IED) bomb handler, identified as Gagandeep Singh, and injured six others on December 23, 2021, the NIA said in a statement.

Following detailed investigations in the case, and acting on orders of the NIA special court in Mohali, the agency has attached the properties of Surmukh Singh alias Sammu, Dilbagh Singh alias Baggo, Harpreet Singh alias Happy Malaysia and Rajanpreet Singh in tehsil Lopoke, Amritsar, it said.

NIA investigations had revealed that the explosion was carried out on the directions of Pakistan-based International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) chief Lakhbir Singh Rode.

The IED used in the blast was sent by Rode into Punjab via the cross-border smuggling route, the probe agency said.

He had conspired with Zulfikar alias Pehalwan, a Pakistan-based cross-border arms-explosives-narcotics smuggler, as well as with Harpreet, Surmukh, Dilbagh and Rajanpreet to form a terror gang to carry out blasts and smuggle arms into the Indian territory, it said.

The case, originally registered by the local police, was taken over by the NIA in January 2022.