Amritsar: Khalistani separatists did infiltrate the farmers’ protests against the farm laws in 2021, it has been established after the Shambu railway track low-intensity blast in Patiala on April 27.
A person, identified as Jagroop Singh, was killed while attempting to plant the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on the dedicated freight corridor railway track. The IED apparently got detonated prematurely.
Gaurav Yadav, DGP, Punjab, named Pakistan-based Ranjeet Singh alias Neeta and US-based Khalistani activist Surinder Singh Thikriwala as accused in the blast.
Thikriwala, while denying his role, confirmed the role of Neeta, head of Khalistan Zindabad Force.
At the same time, Thikriwala spilt the beans by saying that he was present during the farmers’ protests and had met Jagroop Singh there.
The Centre had been citing intelligence reports of Khalistani separatists being present during the agitation, but this was not taken seriously at that time.
After the blast, the Khalistani activist in the US posted photographs of Jagroop Singh on social media. While speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, he said that he did not know the dead man personally, but had met him during the protests.
“I had met him during the farmer agitation against the three farm laws. Otherwise, I was not in touch with him,” Thikriwala said.
This is evidence enough that Khalistani activists were present during the farmers’ protests.
Thikriwala, however, claimed that he had no role to play in the railway track blast and labeled the charges against him as a “complete fabrication” and “entirely false”. He also said that he had no information whether New Delhi had made any correspondence with the US government for his deportation.
The US-based truck driver confirmed his relationship with one of the accused in the same case, Manpreet Singh of district Mansa, who was arrested on Friday. Four others have also been arrested in this case. They have been identified as Pardeep Singh Khalsa, Kulwinder Singh, Satnam Singh alias Satta, and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi.
Thikriwala, originally from Barnala, went to the US after jumping bail in cases pending against him. He admitted to a long history of criminal record.
“I face approximately 23 to 24 active cases in Punjab, including 12 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) cases. No one else in Punjab has such a high number of UAPA cases. The first case against me dates back to 2006. Most of the cases are fake,” he said.
He took the illegal “dunki” route to the US 3-4 years ago after jumping bail.
“KZF chief Ranjeet Singh Neeta has posted a video taking responsibility for the blast. So there is no doubt that Neeta is behind this attack. Some people who blame the blast on agencies are cowards. They themselves can do nothing and hide behind such conspiracy theories,” Thikriwala said.
