Ludhiana court blast: Former cop was carrying explosives; found links to Khalistani elements, drug smugglers, says Punjab DGP

Ludhiana district court blast was carried out by a former Punjab Police constable, a senior police official revealed on Saturday.

The former constable suspected of carrying the bomb has been identified as Gagandeep Singh, a dismissed head constable of the Punjab force, Punjab Director General of Police Siddharth Chattopadhyaya told the media today.

He was dismissed from service in 2019 after being arrested for drug trafficking and spent two years in jail, the senior cop said.

Chattopadhyaya added that links to Khalistani elements, gangsters and drug smugglers were found in the course of the investigation into the blast at the Ludhiana Court complex on Thursday.

"We have found that there is a link to Khalistani elements, gangsters and drug smugglers," Chattopadhyaya said while briefing the media.

"We found several leads from the spot. We found tattered clothes and a sim card, a mobile and a tattoo on the arm," the DGP further said.