NIA files supplementary charge sheet in Ludhiana Court complex blast

New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a supplementary charge sheet against two persons, including a Pakistan-based chief of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) in connection with the Ludhiana Court complex bomb blast case, in which one person was killed and six others were injured on December 23, 2021, an official said here on Tuesday.

Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Malaysia of Amritsar, and Lakhbir Singh, alias Rode of Moga, were charge sheeted by the NIA under UAPA.

The NIA said that Lakhbir Singh is reportedly in Pakistan from where he had smuggled IEDs into India for triggering explosions across Punjab. He is Chief of banned outfits, Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISFY). NIA has claimed that he was the mastermind behind the incident.

Happy Malaysia of Amritsar was arrested in December 2022 from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), Delhi, on his arrival from Malaysia.

In the charge sheet filed before the Special NIA Court, Mohali, Punjab, the duo has been charged under various sections of IPC, Explosive Substances Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Investigations by the NIA revealed that the IED that exploded in the Ludhiana Court complex had been smuggled into Punjab by Rode from across the border. He had smuggled it with the help of Pakistan-based drug smugglers and their Indian associates, including Happy Malaysia.

The case was initially registered at PS Division-5 District Ludhiana, and later the probe was taken over by the NIA.