RANCHI: Three individuals suspected of having links with Pakistan-based terror networks have been arrested for allegedly hurling petrol bombs at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office in Ranchi. One of the accused sustained bullet injuries during a brief gunfight while attempting to flee from police custody on Thursday afternoon, an officer said.
Two of the accused were apprehended near Gajhandi railway station in Koderma district late on Wednesday, along with the seizure of a car used by them. The third accused was arrested from Ranchi on Thursday, the officer added.
The arrested persons have been identified as Aman Ansari alias Golu, Sayam Sujan, and Saif Ansari alias Rohit, who was injured in the encounter. All three are residents of Lohardaga district.
The RSS had on Wednesday alleged that petrol bombs were hurled at its office in the Nivaranpur area during the early hours of the day. Police then constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the incident.
“Three accused have been arrested in connection with the case. One of the accused escaped from police custody during interrogation at Ranchi’s Kotwali police station. The accused was arrested later after a brief gunfight with security forces. He received bullet injuries in one of his legs, and he was admitted to a hospital in the city,” Ranchi senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rakesh Ranjan informed.
Explaining how Saif escaped and was re-arrested, Ranchi SP Paras Rana said, “While being interrogated at the Kotwali police station, he made an excuse to go to the washroom and then ran away after breaking a window. We checked the CCTV footage and found that he had boarded a bus. We then alerted several police stations and circulated his photograph. After a chase, the police caught him near a toll plaza.”
He said that while police teams were bringing him back, the accused snatched a police weapon and fired two to three rounds. “In response, the police also fired at him, resulting in a gunshot wound to one of his legs. The brief encounter happened in Mandar police station area,” the SP said.
Ranchi City DSP KV Raman said, “The accused are suspected to have terror links with ISI or TTH.” The SSP said the probe would now be handled by Jharkhand’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), as international terror links were suspected.
During the investigation, police recovered shards of glass bottles from the spot, officials said. A forensic team shortly visited the site to determine the contents of the bottles, while the bomb detection and disposal squad also inspected the RSS office. The contents of the bottles are suspected to be petrol, another officer said, adding: “No explosive item such as an IED was found”.
Senior BJP leader and former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das condemned the incident, calling the petrol bomb attack on the RSS office an outcome of the JMM-led government’s “vote bank and appeasement policy”. “It was an attack on nationalism. It was an outcome of the freedom allowed to ‘jehadis’ for the sake of vote bank and appeasement policy,” Das alleged.
