Punjab Blast Accused Arrested, Cops Find A Lawrence Bishnoi Link

The grenade attack at BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia's home in Punjab's Jalandhar was masterminded by Zeeshan Akhtar, a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and a wanted accused in the murder case of NCP leader Baba Siddiqui, sources in Punjab police have said. Sources in the police have also said Pakistan's ISI has conspired to disrupt religious harmony in Punjab and that the attack against the BJP leader was planned across the border.

A blast at the home of Mr Kalia, a former Cabinet minister and a former state BJP chief, early on Tuesday damaged an aluminum partition and shattered glass windows of his home and vehicles. No one was hurt, police said. The BJP leader was home at the time.

This is the latest in a series of blasts in Punjab that has prompted Opposition parties to target the Bhagwant Singh Mann government. Punjab minister Mohinder Bhagat had said people who "could not digest the all-round development of the state" were behind the attack.

Police sources said the main accused who threw the grenade has been taken into custody and the e-rickshaw used in the attack has also been seized.

Intererestingly, shortly after the blast at the BJP leader's home, Babbar Khalsa International terrorist Happy Passia has claimed responsibility. This suggests that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang may be working with Khalistan terrorist outfits and the ISI, something security agencies have suspected for a while now.

Within a year, Punjab has witnessed as many as 12 blasts and Happy Passia's name has cropped up in probes into the explosions. Along with him, gangster Jeevan Fauji is also suspected to be involved in the attacks, many of them targeting police establishments in Amritsar.