Grenade hit on BJP neta’s Punjab home; cops claim role of ISI, Bishnoi, nab 2 | India News

JALANDHAR/CHANDIGARH: A grenade explosion focusing on the Jalandhar residence of BJP nationwide govt member Manoranjan Kalia Tuesday – the twenty second ‘terror strike’ in Punjab since final Sept – triggered a path of conspiracy theories linking ISI and the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to the assault and prompted the government to shunt out state intelligence chief R Okay Jaiswal.
Two suspects, recognized as Jalandhar residents Harry and Satish Kumar, alias Kaka, have been arrested on prices of lobbing the grenade at Kalia’s home from an e-rickshaw. A 3rd is on the run.

Police stated they have been performing on the behest of an ISI-backed terror module involving Zeeshan Akhtar, an affiliate of jailed gangster Bishnoi, and Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti.
BJP neta Manoranjan Kalia, who was at his Jalandhar dwelling when the grenade assault occurred round 1.03am on Tuesday, initially mistook it for a transformer blast.
It was solely when he noticed mud and smoke within the courtyard that the BJP functionary realised one thing was amiss.
The ex-minister’s Innova, a parked motorcycle, an aluminium door and a few glass home windows have been broken within the explosion.
“I called the commissioner of police and the ACP, but they did not take my calls. So, I sent my security guard to the police station barely 300 yards from my home to report the blast,” Kalia stated.
Suspected mastermind Zeeshan, whose roots are in Shankar village of Jalandhar’s Nakodar subdivision, is an accused within the Oct 12, 2024 homicide of former Maharashtra minister and NCP functionary Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
He can be a suspect in a March 16 grenade assault on the home of UK-based social media influencer Navdeep Singh Roger Sandhu’s in-laws in Jalandhar’s Raipur Rasoolpur. On that event, the grenade did not explode.
Bhatti named Zeeshan and gangster Happy Passia, who’s believed to be primarily based within the US and has hyperlinks with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Harwinder Rinda, as his accomplices within the assault focusing on the home of Sandhu’s in-laws. He accused Sandhu of producing social media content material denigrating Islam.
In June 2024, a purported video name between Bhatti and Bishnoi surfaced on-line, reinforcing suspicions about their collaboration. This Feb, one other video confirmed Zeeshan addressing Bhatti as “an elder brother” and thanking him for aiding in his escape from India.
A senior police officer stated Zeeshan was probably in Europe.
Before allegedly orchestrating the grenade assault on Kalia’s residence, Zeeshan had a minimum of 10 felony circumstances filed towards him between Sep 3, 2021, and March 16 this 12 months for offences starting from homicide to violation of the Arms Act. Zeeshan, whose aliases embrace Mohammad Jaseen, Jaisy Silander and Jazzy, is 21 and has served time in jails in Punjab.
At a presser in Chandigarh, Punjab’s particular DGP (legislation & order) Arpit Shukla stated police cracked the grenade assault case inside 12 hours. He stated investigators have been verifying leads concerning the suspects having hyperlinks with Pakistan-based BKI and gangster Happy Passia.
An FIR was registered beneath sections 109 (try and homicide), 324 (3) (mischief inflicting loss or injury to any property) and 61(2) (felony conspiracy) of the brand new penal code BNS and the Explosive Substances Act.
BJP and AAP jousted over the assault on Kalia’s dwelling, with the saffron social gathering demanding CM Bhagwant Mann’s resignation. BJP employees staged a protest in Patiala to sentence the assault. Minister Mohinder Bhagat, who visited the BJP nationwide govt member’s home, blamed the Union govt for “activities orchestrated by Lawrence Bishnoi from jail in collaboration with Pakistan”.
Late Tuesday, Praveen Kumar Sinha, a 1994-batch IPS officer and extra DGP, was named as Punjab’s new intelligence chief. The dwelling division’s order talked about that incumbent Jaiswal’s new posting could be introduced later.