Jalandhar: Solving the mystery behind the IED blast that occurred near the ‘BSF Headquarters’ in Jalandhar, the police have arrested two terrorists, Munir Khan and Anil Sharma. The investigation has revealed that the mastermind behind this explosion is Shahzad Bhatti a gangster based in Pakistan who orchestrated the attack by luring Munir Khan with a sum of ₹100,000. Acting on CCTV footage and intelligence inputs, the police apprehended the duo as they attempted to flee to Amritsar. A startling revelation is that Anil Sharma, the individual who filmed the incident, was an informant for security agencies and has claimed to have alerted officials to the impending blast.
A Conspiracy Hatched on Instagram
During police interrogation, the terrorist Munir Khan disclosed that he is a 10th-grade dropout and had established contact with the Pakistani don, Shahzad Bhatti, through Instagram. “Bhatti incited him in the name of Jihad, telling him that Allah had entrusted him with this responsibility and that it was, in fact, Allah’s own work. ” Munir was lured with a sum of one lakh rupees in exchange for carrying out this task, along with a promise that a much larger sum would be paid upon the successful completion of the job.
Setting the 8-Minute Timer with Trembling Hands
Munir Khan revealed that he had learned how to set the timing for the bomb through social media. On the day of the incident, he drove his car to PAP Chowk and then proceeded on foot, walking against the flow of traffic (on the ‘wrong side’) towards the site of the blast. He recounted that since this was his first time attempting such an act, his hands were trembling. He was terrified that the bomb might detonate while he was still carrying it. He set an 8-minute timer, planted the bomb, sprinted across the road to his car, and drove off towards Zirakpur.
150 Cameras Uncover the Truth; Clues Emerge from Zirakpur
To crack this case, the police scoured footage from over 150 CCTV cameras spanning the stretch from the bus stand to PAP Chowk. The investigation revealed a suspicious car that had stopped just moments before the blast and departed five minutes after the explosion occurred. When the police tracked this vehicle, they were led to Zirakpur, where they obtained footage identifying Munir Khan. However, by the time the police reached his residence, he had already fled.
The second accused arrested in connection with this case is Anil Sharma, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. Anil has made a startling claim, asserting that he was working for security agencies. He stated that he was in contact with Bhatti and that, in April, an agency had detained him for seven days, releasing him on the condition that he would share every piece of intelligence he gathered regarding Bhatti. According to Anil, he had informed his ‘handler’ (referred to as ‘Sahab’) about the impending blast as early as May 5th; yet, the explosion occurred nonetheless.
At the time of the blast, Anil Sharma was standing in front of a liquor shop at BSF Chowk. He showed Bhatti the “live explosion” to provide proof that the mission had been successfully accomplished. Following the blast, he boarded a bus… He sat down and then fled. On Friday, the police will take Munir Khan to the location from where he had recovered the bomb. Currently, Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur has maintained silence regarding this sensitive matter and is engaged in piecing together the remaining links.