— ARRESTED PERSONS WERE ACTING ON THE DIRECTIONS OF SHUSHANT CHOPRA, A CLOSE ASSOCIATE OF GURPREET ALIAS GOPI NAWANSHAHRIA AND BKI MASTERMIND HARWINDER RINDA: DGP GAURAV YADAV
— TWO MORE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN NALAGARH BLAST IDENTIFIED, RAIDS ON TO NAB THEM: SSP TUSHAR GUPTA
CHANDIGARH/NAWANSHAHR, January 29:
Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police has achieved a major breakthrough in the investigation relating to the Nalagarh Police Station blast in Himachal Pradesh, by uncovering the involvement of a narco-terror module linked to the Pak-ISI backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror network and arrested its two operatives, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.
The operation was conducted in close coordination with Himachal Pradesh Police and Central Agencies.
Those arrested have been identified as Shamsher Singh alias Sheru alias Kamal and Pardeep Singh alias Deepu, both residents of Rahon in SBS Nagar. Police teams have also recovered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) from their possession.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that arrested operatives were acting on the directions of Shushant Chopra, a close associate of Gurpreet alias Gopi Nawanshahria and BKI mastermind Harwinder Rinda.
The DGP said that preliminary investigation has revealed that on December 31, 2025, the arrested accused persons along with their two accomplices had transported an IED from Punjab to Himachal Pradesh, which was later used in the Nalagarh Police Station blast on January 1, 2026, as part of a larger conspiracy targeting police establishments. Further investigation is ongoing to establish backward and forward linkages in this case, he said.
Sharing operational details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nawanshahr Tushar Gupta said that during investigation of an FIR registered under provisions of the NDPS Act at Police Station Rahon, the role of arrested accused persons were found to be involved in acting on the directions of Shushant Chopra.
The SSP said that based on disclosures and follow-up action, one IED has been recovered from the spot pinpointed by the accused persons, further corroborating their involvement in the terror conspiracy. Police teams have also identified the two accomplices of the arrested accused persons and raids are being carried out to nab them, he said.
In this regard, a separate FIR no. 20 dated 29/01/2026 has been registered under section 25 of the Arms Act, sections 4 an 5 of the Explosives Substances Act, sections 10,13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and section 113(1) and 113(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station Rahon.
