Punjab cops hint at Bishnoi links in Jalandhar blast

Two persons arrested in connection with a blast at Punjab BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia's residence in Jalandhar were found to be linked to jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, a Punjab Police statement said on Tuesday. The blast was masterminded by terrorist modules backed by Pakistan's ISI, it said.

Special DGP (law and order) Arpit Shukla said, "Preliminary investigations have revealed a larger conspiracy orchestrated by Pakistan's ISI to disrupt communal harmony. The plot was masterminded by Zeeshan Akhtar, a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and Pakistan-based ISI-sponsored gangster Shahzad Bhatti."

Shukla did not rule out the accused's links with Pakistan-based BKI mastermind Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda, and gangster Happy Passia. He added police teams also recovered an e-rickshaw used by the accused persons in executing the crime. Rinda was designated as an individual terrorist under UAPA after he fled to Pakistan in 2020.