Punjab Police identify 2 miscreants behind rocket attack in Tarn Taran, arrest 4 accomplices

Addressing a press conference, Inspector General of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill also said probe have confirmed suspicions that the attack was a result of cross border terrorism.

The doors and walls of the sanjh kendra in the police station complex in Sarhali village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district was damaged due to an RPG attack late Friday night. | Twitter / @bsmajithia

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police Monday said two miscreants who allegedly hurled a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) inside a police station complex in Tarn Taran district last week have been identified.

Addressing a press conference, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill also said four people who had provided logistical support to the perpetrators of the crime have been arrested.

Gill also said investigations have confirmed police’s suspicions that the attack was a result of cross border terrorism and that the RPG was procured from Pakistan. He said two Additional Director Generals of Police, R.N. Dhoke and Amit Prasad, were closely supervising the investigation.

Gill added that security arrangements in and around police complexes that fall on main roads and highways have been intensified in view of intelligence inputs that more such attacks could take place. The IGP also said that Parkash Singh, the station house officer (SHO) of Sarhali police station, where the attack took place, has been transferred for not following instructions issued by the headquarters.

According to the police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran, had on 15 October asked all stations to enhance security and ensure that CCTV cameras are installed.

No loss of life was reported in the attack last week. The RPG was launched from the Amritsar-Bathinda highway on which the police station complex is located. The police station building was saved as the grenade ricocheted from the outer grilled gate of the police station and landed in the adjoining saanjh kendra. A case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) was subsequently registered.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav had visited the site and said that military grade hardware was used in the attack. Both the launcher and the propeller have been recovered from the site.

A team of the National Investigative Agency (NIA) had also reached the spot for inspection Saturday evening. Bomb disposal squads of the Punjab Police, meanwhile, defused the RPG near Harike headworks amid high security.