Grenade attack on Punjab YouTuber's house: Army jawan held for training main accused
Chandigarh, Apr 17 (PTI) An Army jawan posted in Jammu and Kashmir has been arrested for allegedly imparting online training to the man who hurled a grenade at the residence of a Jalandhar-based YouTuber last month, Punjab Police said on Thursday.
A court in Jalandhar sent the jawan, Sukhcharan Singh, to five-day police remand, police officials said.
The main accused, Hardik Kamboj, hurled the hand grenade at the house of YouTuber Rozer Sandhu on the intervening night of March 15 and 16. However, the grenade did not explode.
During the course of investigation, it came to light that Singh provided online training to Kamboj on throwing the grenade at the residence of the YouTuber, said Senior Superintendent of Police (Jalandhar Rural) Harvinder Singh Virk.
Singh came in contact with Kamboj through social media platform Instagram, police said.
Singh, who hails from Muktsar district, was named in the FIR and an arrest warrant was secured from a court, the SSP said.
Police said they apprised the Army authorities about Singh's role in the matter.
A court in Jalandhar sent Singh to five-day police remand. Further investigation in the matter is underway, they said.
Police have so far arrested nine people, including Kamboj, in this case.
Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti claimed responsibility for the attack at Sandhu's house over his use of alleged derogatory language against the Muslim community.
There have been many explosions targeting police posts in Amritsar and Gurdaspur in the past four to five months.
Last month, a blast occurred outside a temple in Amritsar.
A grenade blast took place at the residence of BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar on April 8 but no one was hurt.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
IMF approves USD 206 million emergency funding for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka's recovery
Colombo (PTI): The IMF has approved an emergency funding of USD 206 million under its rapid finance instrument to help Sri Lanka “address the urgent needs arising from the catastrophic Cyclone Ditwah and preserve macroeconomic stability”.
The cyclone caused widespread destruction in the island nation and left over 643 people dead.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the disaster has created urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs, generating significant fiscal pressures and balance-of-payments needs.
ALSO READ: PM arrives in Kolkata to unveil projects, address rally in Bengal''s Nadia
The emergency financial support provided by the IMF under the rapid finance instrument will help address these pressures, it said.
The IMF added that the cyclone devastation hit when the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s USD 2.9 billion bailout was nearing completion.
“Given the time needed to assess the economic impact of the cyclone and examine how an IMF-supported programme can best support Sri Lanka’s recovery and reconstruction efforts while preserving objectives and policy priorities, the Fifth Review has been deferred," it said.
"An IMF mission team will visit Sri Lanka in early 2026 to resume discussions,” it added.
The 48-month extended fund facility deal with the IMF in March 2023 carried hard reforms to Sri Lanka's welfare-based governance.
It was signed after Sri Lanka plunged into an unprecedented economic meltdown with its first-ever sovereign default.
Several hours before the IMF decision, the parliament here approved without a vote a supplementary estimate of LKR 500 billion, which the government said was required to restore the livelihoods of those affected by the disaster.
