Pro-Khalistan group member Jaswinder Singh alias Multani has been declared a proclaimed offender in the Model Jail tiffin bomb case by the special NIA court, Chandigarh, on Wednesday.

Jaswinder Singh, alias “Multani”, of Mansoorpur-Mukerian village in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district has been identified as the mastermind behind planting the IED bomb outside the wall of Model Jail, Burail, Chandigarh, with the intention of spreading terror and causing violence.

Multani has been declared a proclaimed offender under section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a federal agency spokesperson said.

He is currently based in Germany and has a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him. The NIA court had issued the NBW against him on January 5 and had also declared a reward of ₹10 lakhs as well as opened a Look Out Circular against him.

The case tiffin bomb was originally registered against unknown persons by Chandigarh Police under the Explosive Substances Act 1908. Later, the NIA took over the case in May last year and re-registered it with additional provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-1967. NIA investigations had revealed that Jaswinder had masterminded the crime from Germany and he was in touch with pro-Khalistan operatives based in India, Pakistan, and other countries. “Multani was using them to promote violence and terror," an NIA spokesperson said. 

“He was also sending or raising funds and coordinating the movement of arms and ammunition, as well as explosives from Pakistan into India," the spokesperson said.

The pro-Khalistan group ‘Sikhs for Justice’ (SFJ) is a banned unlawful association.

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