New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday declared a cash reward of Rs 15 lakh on the head of Canada-based terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa, a prime accused in connection with the rocket launcher attack on Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in Mohali in May last year.
Deepak Ranga, who had shot the rocket, was arrested by the NIA in January last week from UP's Gorakhpur.
Ranga is a close associate of Canada-based gangster-turned-terrorist Landa and Pakistan based gangster-turned-terrorist Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda.
The rocket was powerful but it rebounded after hitting the wall and no one suffered injuries nor it could damage the building. However, the incident had sent a panic wave in the state.
The NIA had registered a case suo moto on September 20, 2022 after it emerged that that terrorist outfits and terror elements based abroad were operating in tandem with leaders and members of organised criminal gangs operating in northern States of the country to commit targeted killings and violent criminal acts. It had also emerged that the terror-gangster-drug smuggler network was also engaged in smuggling terrorist hardware, such as arms, ammunition explosives, IEDs etc across border.
The Chief Minister said instead of paddy, the farmer of the state is ready to sow sunflower, maize, and pulses but for that they must get adequate and assured price. He said this will help checking the depleting water table in the state, on one hand, and making agriculture a profitable venture on the other.
Two persons injured in a road accident on Tuesday-- Sumit Gaur (21),and Mahboob Siddique (20) -- were declared dead and their bodies were kept at the hospital morgue overnight. When Sumit's relatives arrived at the mortuary to claim the body on Wednesday, they found multiple bite marks on his face. The rats had nibbled the nose, they alleged.
Raids on locations related to Popular Front of India (PFI) are being carried out in eight places in Uttar Pradesh. Mohammad Waseem, resident of Indira Nagar in Lucknow, has been taken away by the NIA sleuths, according to official sources. Waseem runs a tailoring shop and digital documents were recovered from his possession during the raid.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said the government will approach the Supreme Court against the arbitrary and anti-democratic decision of the Governor to cancel the permission of holding a special session of the Vidhan Sabha after giving permission for it. He said it is an unfortunate move and they will move to the apex court against this irrational decision.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Japan on September 27 to attend the state funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. He will also separately meet his counterpart, Fumio Kishida during the visit, it said.
The village leaders have asked the parents of Dalit boy Ramesh and Shobha not to enter village until they pay the fine amount. Miscreants are also making threatening calls to the boy's mother.