DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

The main perpetrator of the hand grenade blast at the residence of BJP Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar has been arrested from Delhi, a top Punjab Police officer said on Saturday. Saidul Ameen, a resident of Amroha in Uttar Pradesh was nabbed with the support of central agencies and Delhi Police from the national capital, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.

Addressing the media in Jalandhar, Yadav said Ameen was apprehended after an intensive multi-state manhunt. "We achieved a major breakthrough with the arrest of the main perpetrator from Delhi in the case," said Yadav. "A police team is bringing him back, and then we will investigate to find the larger conspiracy -- who were his handlers and who provided financial support to him," Yadav said.

A hand grenade was hurled at Kalia's Jalandhar home, shattering glass panes and damaging vehicles. No one was injured in the blast.

Police later arrested two persons in connection with the incident and said it was the conspiracy of Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to create communal tension in Punjab.

Ameen was seen in a CCTV footage procured from the railway station in Jalandhar after the blast, police said.

The DGP said police followed the CCTV trail to nab the accused and launched an operation which spanned Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Yadav also said the ongoing probe has also revealed a financial link one Abhijot, who was arrested by Haryana Police on Friday after an exchange of fire in Kurukshetra. Police will bring him on a production warrant for further investigations, he added.

Asked why Kalia was chosen as the target of the attack, Yadav said the BJP leader could be a high-profile target. "It is too early to say. We do not rule out any possibility. Pakistan's ISI wanted to disturb peace and harmony and mutual brotherhood, he said, adding that the possibility of more people's involvement cannot be ruled out.

Further investigations to uncover handlers, financial backers and potential foreign connections linked to the attack are under progress," Yadav said. Police said the April 7 blast was masterminded by Zeeshan Akhtar, a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and Pakistan-based ISI-sponsored gangster Shahzad Bhatti. The role of Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) is also

being probed.

(editor@dailyworld.in)