New Delhi: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Chandigarh on Wednesday declared a member of banned 'unlawful association' Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) Jaswinder Singh alias Multan a Proclaimed Offender (PO) in the Model Jail Tiffin Bomb case of April 2022, the agency said on Thursday.
Multani, hailing from the village Mansoorpur in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, has been declared a Proclaimed Offender under section 82 of the CrPC. Multani is currently based in Germany and has a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him. The NIA Court had issued the NBW against him on January 5 this year and had also declared a reward of Rs 10 lakh as well as opened a Look Out Circular against him.
Multani has been identified as the mastermind behind the planting of the IED bomb outside the wall of Model Jail, Burail, Chandigarh with the intention of spreading terror and causing violence. The tiffin bomb, along with a detonator, was found in a black bag outside the Jail on April 22 last year. The case was originally registered against unknown persons by Chandigarh Police under the Explosive Substances Act 1908. The NIA had subsequently taken over the case in May last year and re-registered it with additional provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-1967.
Investigations by the NIA had revealed that Multani had masterminded the crime from Germany and he was in touch with pro-Khalistan operatives based in India, Pakistan and other countries. "Multani was using them to promote violence and terror." The accused was identifying, recruiting, motivating and radicalising the youth of Punjab through social media, as per the investigations. "He was also sending and raising funds and coordinating the movement of arms and ammunition, as well as explosives from Pakistan into India." (ANI)
