The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has secured a court order declaring a Germany-based member of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) a proclaimed offender in the Model Jail ‘tiffin-bomb’ case of April 2022.
A non-bailable warrant had earlier been issued against the accused, Jaswinder Singh aka Multani, who is originally from Mansoorpur village in Hoshiarpur’s Mukerian of Punjab. The NIA had also declared a reward of ₹10 lakh and opened a Look-Out Circular against him.
According to the agency, Multani was the mastermind behind the planting of an Improvised Explosive Device outside the wall of Model Jail in 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,” it said on Thursday.
The case was initially registered against unknown persons by the Chandigarh police under the Explosive Substances Act. The NIA took over the probe in May 2022 and found that Multani had allegedly masterminded the crime from Germany.
“He was in touch with pro-Khalistan operatives based in India, Pakistan and other countries, and was using them to promote violence and terror. He was identifying, recruiting, motivating and radicalising the youth of Punjab through social media, as per the investigations. He was also sending/raising funds and coordinating the movement of arms and ammunition, as well as explosives from Pakistan into India,” said the NIA.