Amritsar, November 24: In a major breakthrough in Amritsar blast case, Punjab police has arrested the second assailant from Khiala village in Lopoke. Avtar Singh has been sent to police remand till December 1 by a court in Ajnala. Director General of police (DGP), Punjab Suresh Arora said that Italy based Paramjit Baba instigated Avatar to commit the crime. Avtar also has links with Harmeet Singh ‘PhD’ alias Happy, the Pakistan-based Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader. Amritsar Blast: Pakistan Denies Involvement in Grenade Attack at Nirankari Bhawan.

According to the Punjab police, Happy is the mastermind of the attack. The KLF leader had also planned and strategist the targeted killings of some socio-religious leaders in the state in 2016-17. He is a native of Amritsar and living in Pakistan for over two decades.

On Thursday, police arrested one of the two attackers, Bikramjit Singh. After the arrest of 26-year-old Bikramjit, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh during a press conference denied any communal angle in the attack. Earlier, Captain Singh also claimed that the hand grenades used in the attack were manufactured in Pakistan ordinance factory.

According to a report published in The Tribune, Baba is a maternal cousin of Avtar, who put him in touch with Happy. Baba also arranged weapons for both the assailants to carry out the attack. On November 18, at least three people were killed and over a dozen were injured when both the assailants lobbed grenades at the Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar's Rajasansi village.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 24, 2018 07:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).