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.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
