Bag with explosives, detonator found near Burail Jail, Army team called in

Officials said that the area around Model Burail Jail was highly sensitive, with the prison at present housing around 1,000 convicts — the prominent among them being Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) Jagtar Singh Tara, who is serving a life sentence for his involvement in the assasination of former Punjab CM Beant Singh.

In January, 2004, four prisoners — including three BKI terrorists who had been convicted for the assassination of former Punjab CM Beant Singh — had escaped from the jail after digging a 108-feet tunnel under the jail. Three of them — including Jagtar Singh Tara, and Paramjit Singh Bheora — were later arrested. The fourth convict, Devi Singh, a Nepali, is still absconding.

“A transparent small box, shaped like a tiffin, along with a long codex wire, a small object believed to be a detonator, and around 250gm of explosive was found just a few meters away from the rear boundary wall of Model Burail jail. The box was found in an abandoned state by a team of UT police’s Operations Cell, which was conducting a routine patrol in the area. It is a serious threat and we think it is an immature attempt to create panic. We have called in the defense authorities from the Chandimandir area for defusing the recovered substance,” a senior police officer said.

Sources said the explosive substance was found between Model Burail Jail, Sector 51, and Sargodha Housing Society, Sector 51. “There are multiple layers of boundary walls, the first of which is located right near the barracks where the jail inmates are lodged. The explosive substances were found outside the last boundary wall of the jail. From the rear, where the explosive device was found, there are three more boundary walls before one can access the barracks in which inmates are lodged. As per our assessment, the recovered explosive was not powerful enough to reach the barracks. We have still beefed up the security cover of the jail,” a senior jail officer said.

As per details, senior police officers — including IG Omvir Singh Bishnoi, SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal, SP Ketan Bansal, SP Shruti Arora, along with others — rushed to the spot. The building of regional headquarters of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also located inside the Model Burail jail. A case under relevant sections of the Explosive Act has been registered at Sector 49 police station.