Railway Track Blasts; 'Nihangs’' Ultimatum on Reciprocal Tax on Himachal Vehicles

May

2026

A bomb blast ripped through a section of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) railway track near Bathonia village, between Rajpura and Shambhu in Patiala district, on 28 Apr night. The explosion triggered a security alert across Panjab and neighboring Haryana. A man—allegedly attempting to plant an improvised explosive device—died at the spot. The police later identified him as Jagroop Singh from Panjwar village, Tarn Taran district. Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma said the explosion caused some damage to the track. Jagroop's family has refused to take his body or give consent for a post-mortem. Police say Jagroop was associated with jailed Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh. Police have identified the founder of a closely run group Chalda Vaheer Chakarwarti, Attariye, Pardeep Singh Khalsa, as the mastermind of the plot. Pardeep used to send like-minded individuals to Malaysia for training and assign them to terror activities. Jagroop had been to Malaysia several times. The police have arrested four individuals who were running a Khalistani terror module that was receiving support from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu visited the blast site and reviewed the security situation along the DFC. The minister expressed serious concern over the repeated incidents targeting railway infrastructure in Panjab and assured strict, immediate measures to strengthen safety and monitor railway tracks. A blast had occurred a few hundred meters away on the same DFC railway track on 23 Jan. The ploy seems to be to create a sense of terror in Panjab, especially among the trading community. Meanwhile, the ongoing agitation against the Himachal Pradesh entry tax intensified on 2 May, after the Nihang Singhs (traditional Sikh warriors) joined the stir and issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Panjab government to impose a reciprocal tax. Nihang leader Baba Achchar Singh said, ‘This is not merely a tax issue but a matter of dignity and rights of the people of Panjab.' The announcement comes two days after Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Eternal Throne) acting Jathedar (leader) Kuldeep Singh Gargajj termed the entry tax of Himachal as Jaziya (a tax during the Mughal rule on non-Muslims) (earlier coverage).