Sriganganagar — Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Additional Director General Dinesh MN on Sunday disclosed the investigation's findings in the November 3 railway track blast near 50 GB village in Sri Ganganagar district, alleging that the conspiracy was masterminded by a Pakistan-based handler identified as Shah, who used a romantic relationship to recruit 21-year-old Mahakdeep Kaur. Dinesh MN addressed the press conference along with officials of the AGTF and ANTF, Bikaner Range IG Om Prakash and Sri Ganganagar SP Harishankar, the Times of India reported. All of the handler, payment and recruitment details in this report are police allegations at this stage and have not been proven in court.

Source: Times of India via Jaipur News

This is a major new development in a case Awaaz Punjab reported on Saturday, when Kaur and Davinder Singh were arrested from Gurdaspur in Punjab and three other people were detained — and police had said the motive behind the blast was yet to be established and no handler had been named. Police now allege the accused were paid Rs 2.23 lakh for the operation, including Rs 1 lakh in cash, with the remaining amount transferred to their bank accounts, and that the handler provided the target location, funding and instructions with the objective of spreading panic in Sri Ganganagar and across Rajasthan. Two foreign-made pistols, 46 live cartridges and Rs 30,000 in cash were recovered from the arrested accused, police said.

Source: Times of India via Jaipur News

According to the ADGP, Kaur's marriage had ended in December 2024 and her husband Karanveer Singh was jailed in an NDPS case in February 2025; he allegedly re-established contact and asked her to communicate with a Pakistan-based person named Lovely, who would provide money to be delivered to him in jail. Lovely later introduced her to Shah, conversations developed into a romantic relationship, and the handler allegedly exploited that attachment to recruit her for the blast and assign targets, police alleged.

Source: Times of India via Jaipur News

Police alleged the accused made two earlier attempts before the November 3 explosion: they visited the Ramsinghpur area on October 6 but failed because explosives were not available, and returned on October 12 or 13 with explosives and a timer, but a technical malfunction prevented the blast. Following further instructions, they allegedly triggered the explosion near 50 GB village at about 9.45 pm on November 3. Investigators are also examining whether a train was the intended target. The Daily Jagran, reporting the same investigation on Sunday, likewise said a Pakistani handler named Shah had assigned the task, that the site was visited on October 6 and again on October 12-13, and that two pistols and 46 cartridges were recovered.

Source: Daily Jagran

Dinesh MN said the breakthrough followed an extensive investigation involving analysis of nearly five lakh call records and questioning of more than 400 people, including suspected Pakistan-linked smugglers and their local contacts, before the accused were traced through technical surveillance and human intelligence. He said inputs from central agencies received three days ago led ATS teams to Punjab, where, with assistance from Punjab Counter Intelligence, the suspects were traced to Gurdaspur. Both accused will be produced before a court and taken on remand for further interrogation to identify other members of the network and establish links with Pakistan-based handlers, he said.

Source: Times of India via Jaipur News