Two held in Rajasthan railway track blast case; police cite Pakistani handler links

Railway sleepers and two concrete pillars damaged on the Anupgarh-Suratgarh railway line due to a suspected blast near the 50 GB village, in Sri Ganganagar on November 3, 2026.

Two accused in the November 3, 2026, railway track blast in Ramsinghpur were arrested from Punjab’s Gurdaspur, with preliminary investigation indicating their links with Pakistani handlers, the police said on Sunday (November 15, 2026).

The accused, identified as Mahakdeep Kaur and Devendra Singh, were arrested in a joint operation of the Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Sri Ganganagar police.

According to the police, Ms. Kaur was allegedly in contact with a Pakistani handler identified as Shah and had conspired with her associate to carry out the explosion on railway tracks in the Ramsinghpur police station area.

Two foreign-made pistols, 46 live cartridges and ₹30,000, allegedly received for carrying out the blast, have been recovered from their possession, officials said.

The arrests were made on November 14, 2026, in a joint operation by the Rajasthan ATS and the Sri Ganganagar police, in coordination with Counter Intelligence Punjab and the Gurdaspur police.

Under the direction of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Dinesh M.N., a joint team was constituted under Sri Ganganagar Superintendent of Police Harishankar. The team collected inputs from central investigating agencies and analysed technical information and the social media accounts of suspects.

The investigation pointed to the involvement of Ms. Kaur and Devendra Singh, residents of Gurdaspur. A team led by probationary Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Nitin Chaudhary, the investigating officer, and ATS Bikaner unit in-charge Surendra Kumar was subsequently sent to Punjab.

The Rajasthan team shared intelligence and technical inputs with Counter Intelligence Punjab and Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Aditya before the two suspects were detained and arrested following questioning.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that Ms. Kaur’s husband, Karanveer Singh, had earlier been arrested in Punjab in a narcotics smuggling case. Following his arrest, she allegedly came in contact with Pakistan-based handlers, the police said.

Investigators have identified a Pakistani handler named Shah and another person referred to as ‘Chacha’ as allegedly directing the accused to execute the blast. The police said ‘Chacha’ was believed to have links with the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s spy agency.

According to the investigation, the accused had initially planned to carry out an explosion on October 6, 2026, in the Ramsinghpur area, but could not do so because an explosive device was not available.

A timer bomb allegedly provided by Shah was subsequently placed on the railway track on October 12 and 13, but failed to explode due to technical defects, the police said.

The blast was finally carried out on November 3 at around 9.45 p.m., using another timer bomb allegedly supplied by the Pakistani handler.

Investigators believe a woman was used to execute the operation to avoid suspicion, officials said.

The accused allegedly received payments through online channels and were found following profiles of active gangsters on social media, the police said, adding that the role of other persons, suspected contacts and financial transactions was being examined.

The police said the case had also brought to light a suspected trend of targeting women through romantic relationships and monetary inducements to recruit them for criminal activities. The ATS had earlier arrested a woman identified as Babita from Gangapur City, who was allegedly lured into contact with Pakistani agents through a romantic relationship, they said.

The two arrested accused are being questioned in connection with the FIR registered at Ramsinghpur police station. Further investigation is under way to identify other persons involved in the alleged network and establish the extent of their links with Pakistan-based handlers.

The Rajasthan Police have appealed to people to stay away from suspicious social media accounts and contacts associated with Pakistan-based handlers and criminal gangsters, and to report any suspicious activity to the concerned agencies.

Information related to gangsters, anti-national activities or criminal acts can be shared with the Rajasthan ATS through its control room number 0141-2601583 or WhatsApp number 9001999070. The police said the identity of informants would be kept confidential.