By IANS
Karnal (Haryana) : Nearly two kg of RDX was used in the attack on the convoy of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in this Haryana district, the police confirmed Sunday.
Karnal district police chief A.S. Chawla told reporters that investigations had clearly indicated the involvement of a Punjab-based Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), a separatist group, in the attack near Nilokheri town Saturday.
“We are looking for Bakshish Singh, a former Bhindranwale Tiger Force terrorist who switched over to KCF later, as the mastermind of the attack,” Chawla said.
The Dera chief was unhurt in the attack though 10 of his followers were injured in the pile-up of vehicles of his convoy on the busy national highway No.1 near here Saturday evening.
The police arrested the driver and the cleaner of the 10-wheel truck that caused a blast when passing near the convoy. The RDX was put in an extra tyre of the truck and was detonated when the Dera chief’s convoy was passing the truck on way from a court hearing in Ambala to western Uttar Pradesh.
The RDX detonator was linked to the battery of the truck and was triggered by the cleaner as the sect chief’s convoy passed by the truck, Chawla said.
Bakshish Singh was released on bail in 2003 and had to mark his attendance at the Patiala police station every fortnight. Chawla said Singh had last marked his attendance Jan 17, and was not seen at the police station this month.
Raids were being conducted in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to nab him, Chawla added.
A joint team of the Haryana and Punjab police conducted raids at a few places in Patiala town, 100 km from here.
Haryana and Punjab remained on high alert following the incident.
Angry Dera supporters late Saturday night took to the streets at several places in Haryana, including Karnal and Ambala, and blocked the national highway. They also set some vehicles on fire and resorted to violence, after which police had to cane charge them and fire in the air.
The Dera chief enjoys Z-plus security cover in the wake of the widespread violence against him and his sect by a section of the Sikh community last year that followed his dressing up as the 10th Sikh guru, Gobind Singh.
He faces two cases of murder conspiracy and one of alleged rape, and is being tried in a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ambala.