5 years on, no headway in Maur blast investigation

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 23

Security at the court complex and district administration complex has been intensified in Bathinda after the court blast in Ludhiana today.

A similar blast had occurred days before the 2017 Assembly elections at Maur Mandi, killing seven persons, but nearly five years have gone by and there is no headway in the probe. A special investigation team (SIT) headed by DIG Harjit Singh Kehra had claimed two persons had driven the explosive-laden car from Sirsa. An unexploded pressure cooker was found at the scene. Investigators later claimed they had found a possible link of the blast with the Dera Sacha Sauda and named three suspects — Gurtej Singh Kala, incharge of the workshop where the explosives were allegedly fitted into the car; Amrik Singh, a security guard of dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh; and Avtar Singh, a Kurukshetra electrician who allegedly helped fix the batteries used in the bomb.

In May 2018, a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked for handing over the probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In October 2019, the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the state police to institute a new SIT for the investigation. The new team headed by ADGP Ishwar Singh began investigating dera’s alleged role in the incident. The SIT later named the three suspects in a chargesheet submitted in a Talwandi Sabo court.

Naveen Singla, member of the Maur Bomb Blast Virodhi Sangharsh Committee, said: “The families that lost their loved ones in the car explosion on January 31, 2017, still await justice as the police are yet to arrest the three suspects involved in the case.”

Two months ago, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who also holds the Home portfolio, had levelled serious allegation against former CM Capt Amarinder Singh, claiming the probe in the Maur case was hushed up during his tenure and had asked him to explain why the inquiry was halted.

Dera role under lens

• Blast occurs in a car laden with explosives on Jan 31, 2017
• Role of 3 suspects linked to Dera Sacha Sauda suspected
• HC asks state police to form a new SIT in October 2019
• SIT later names the three suspects in the chargesheet