Nalagarh IED blast: NIA arrests three accused in Himachal Pradesh

The NIA has arrested three accused—Mahavir Kumar, Ajay Mehra, and Manpreet Singh—in the IED explosion case at Himachal's Nalagarh Police Station on Jan 1. Two have been remanded to police custody, while one is in judicial custody for the terror act.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said it has arrested three accused in connection with the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion that occurred on January 1 this year near the outer wall adjoining the room of the investigating officer, situated within the premises of Himachal Pradesh's Nalagarh Police Station.

Details of Arrested Accused

Mahavir Kumar alias Kaka, Ajay Mehra, and Manpreet Singh alias Mani are the first three accused to be arrested by NIA in this case. The accused were produced before the special NIA court, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Accused Mahavir Kumar and Ajay Mehra have been remanded to eight days of police custody, while Manpreet Singh has been sent to judicial custody.

Case Background

The case was initially registered at Nalagarh Police Station, following the IED explosion at about 9.40 am on January 1. The investigation was subsequently taken over by the NIA, and the case was re-registered by the agency on May 8 as RC-27/2026/NIA/DLI under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Ongoing Investigation

During the course of investigation, the NIA said involvement of accused Mahavir Kumar, Ajay Mehra, and Manpreet Singh came to light in the commission of the offence. NIA has arrested the three accused as part of its efforts to unravel the larger conspiracy behind the terror act.

The anti-terror agency further said its investigation is underway to identify and apprehend other persons involved in the conspiracy and to ascertain the larger network behind the attack.

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