A special NIA court in Mohali has dismissed the bail plea of a Tarn Taran man accused of collecting and burying two hand grenades as part of a plot to carry out a terror attack in Punjab.
An FSL report later found that the grenades were manufactured by Pakistan’s armed forces and contained PETN, a high explosive. Singh’s counsel argued that he was not named in the original FIR, police recovered nothing from him and four co-accused had secured bail. The defence also cited his prolonged custody and the delay in trial.
The case dates back to June 2, 2019, when police recovered two hand grenades and a mobile phone from a bag abandoned by two motorcycle-borne men during vehicle checking at Harsha Cheena bus stop in Amritsar district.
Special judge Dinesh Kumar Wadhwa rejected the bail application of Jajbir Singh, 40, of Ekalgadda village, Tarn Taran, in an NIA case registered under the Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the IPC. The NIA opposed bail, citing Section 43-D(5) of the UAPA and the material collected during the investigation. The court held that the material on record made out a prima facie case against Singh under the UAPA, triggering the statutory bar on bail. It also rejected the parity argument, noting that the other accused had different alleged roles.
Investigation later linked Singh to Harmeet Singh alias PhD, whom the agency described as the self-styled chief of the proscribed Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), and drug smuggler Jasmeet Singh Hakimzada, according to the NIA’s case. The court said prolonged incarceration could not by itself justify bail in the case and dismissed Singh’s application.
