Nalagarh IED Blast: NIA Arrests 3 More, Probe Widens Into Punjab Links

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has widened its probe into the January 1 IED explosion at Nalagarh police station in Himachal Pradesh, with the arrest of three more accused from Punjab taking the total number held in the case to six.

The blast occurred around 9.40 am near the outer wall adjoining the investigating officer’s room inside the police station premises. The NIA took over the investigation from local police on May 8 and re-registered the case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Explosive Substances Act and UAPA.

The latest accused are Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Kandola, Karanpartap and Diljot Saini, all residents of Rahon in Punjab’s SBS Nagar district. They were already under arrest in connection with another case registered at Garhshankar police station in Punjab.

Their arrests are significant as the agency examines whether the Nalagarh attack formed part of a broader criminal or terror network, rather than an isolated incident. Earlier, NIA had arrested Mahavir Kumar alias Kaka, Ajay Mehra and Manpreet Singh alias Mani. Those three had also initially been arrested by Punjab Police in another case before being taken into custody by NIA in the blast investigation.

The agency says it has established the involvement of the three newly arrested men, but has not publicly disclosed their precise individual roles. It is therefore unclear from the information released so far who allegedly arranged, transported, planted or detonated the explosive.

The investigation is focused on establishing linkages among the accused, identifying additional participants and tracing the network behind the attack. Their separate Punjab case provides investigators another avenue for examining connections and coordination across states. This trail could help reconstruct the attack's planning and execution fully.

NIA’s stated objective is to unravel the larger conspiracy, identify everyone involved and determine how the different accused and suspected associates may be connected. However, the agency has yet to publicly establish the complete motive, mastermind structure or full network. Those questions remain part of the ongoing probe.