This is an archive article published on April 8, 2025
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Punjab Police arrest 2 for grenade blast at BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia’s house, say ISI behind attack
The Punjab Police said gangster Zeeshan Akhtar and Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti were behind the explosion outside BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia’s Jalandhar house.
The explosion site outside Manoranjan Kalia's home. (Express Photo)
The Punjab Police claimed to have solved the case of the grenade attack on the house of BJP leader and former minister Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar within 12 hours with the arrest of two people.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Arpit Shukla, Special DGP (Law and Order), said Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, along with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), was behind the attack to create communal disturbance in Punjab. Shukla said gangster Zeeshan Akhtar, who is a known associate of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, and Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti were behind the attack.
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Shukla said the two suspects have been nabbed along with the e-rickshaw used in the attack.
“We cannot share more details as it will hamper the investigation. We are exploring the involvement of Happy Passia and others as well as that of BKI in the matter,” said Shukla, adding that an operation is underway in conjunction with Central agencies.
When asked about the repeated grenade attacks in Punjab over the past few months, Shukla said most cases have been solved.
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Reacting to the development, Manoranjan Kalia told the media that if the Punjab Police were satisfied with the probe, so was he. Kalia said the police must also investigate if the people they have arrested also carried out attacks in other parts of Punjab.
“Ever since the AAP has come to power in Punjab the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated. Pakistan will always try to create trouble in Punjab, but the Punjab Police have the primary responsibility to maintain peace. Unfortunately, it has not been so for the past three years,” he said.
After the explosion outside Kalia’s house, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab Government, saying it was “a direct assault on the peace, democracy, and law and order” of the state.
The explosion site outside Manoranjan Kalia's home. (Express Photo) 
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