Punjab Police on Thursday nabbed two individuals reportedly linked to a narco-terror module of the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) from Nawanshahr in connection with the blast outside a police station in Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh, on January 1, according to officials.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the arrests were made during a joint operation carried out in coordination with the Himachal Pradesh Police and Central agencies.
The accused have been identified as Shamsher Singh alias Sheru alias Kamal and Pardeep Singh alias Deepu, both residents of Rahon in Punjab’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, the DGP said. An improvised explosive device (IED) was also seized from their possession.
Residents of Nalagarh town in Solan woke up on New Year’s Day to the sound of the explosion near the local police station. The blast caused cracks in the windows of nearby buildings, including an Army canteen located about 40 metres away.
A social media post, purportedly issued by the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and a little-known group, Punjab Sovereignty Alliance, claimed responsibility for the blast later the same day.
The post said the IED explosion was carried out in retaliation for the Himachal Pradesh Police allegedly not taking action against the smuggling of synthetic drugs manufactured in Himachal Pradesh into Punjab.
According to the Punjab DGP, the two accused were acting on the instructions of Shushant Chopra, a close aide of gangster Gurpreet alias Gopi Nawanshahria and BKI mastermind Harwinder Rinda.
According to initial probe, on December 31, 2025, the accused, along with two accomplices, transported an IED from Punjab to Himachal Pradesh, which was later used to trigger the Nalagarh explosion as part of a larger conspiracy targeting police establishments.
Nawanshahr Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tushar Gupta said one IED was recovered from a location identified by the accused, further confirming their role in the terror plot.
Police have also identified the two accomplices of the arrested men, and efforts are underway to trace and arrest them, he added.
The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Arms Act, Explosives Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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