The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Ghorasahan bomb planting case, has found a link between Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Bhojpuri film industry.

The revelation came to the fore during the interrogation of Gajendra Sharma, one of the arrested suspects, produced before a NIA special court in Patna on Thursday. Sharma, a resident of Bakhri village in East Champaran district, had surrendered before the additional chief judicial magistrate of Raxaul on February 13.

A senior officer of the investigating agency said Sharma, the proprietor of Dangal Studio in East Champaran's Ghorasahan, came into contact with a Nepal-based Bhojpuri film actor, Brajkishore Giri, who owned Big Bollywood Studio in Nepal's Birganj.

"Since I wanted to make a career in the Bhojpuri film industry, I was in constant touch with Giri who was already in that business. He suggested me to work for him if I wanted to fulfil my dreams. Giri promised to give a handsome amount in lieu of work assigned to me," an NIA official quoted Sharma as saying.

Residents told NIA sleuths that Sharma used to make videos and music albums at his studio. Sharma, who has studied till Class XII, initially used to sing at ratri jagrans (night-long programmes of devotional songs) to earn Rs 400-500 per night and worked for a Bhojpuri FM radio station. "He wished to make his fortune in the Bhojpuri film industry as a singer," a resident told the NIA team that visited his studio in Ghorasahan.

Sources said the pressure cooker bomb was planted on the railway track hardly 200m from his studio on October 1, 2016. Police seized the explosive device and defused it.

The investigating official said Giri, arrested in Nepal for his involvement in a double murder case of alleged ISI operatives Arun Ram and Deepak Ram, had acted in Bhojpuri films as such Raftar and the under-production movie Ae More Jaan Tohray Mein Base Le Hamre Pran. Apart from Giri and Sharma, another suspect, Mukesh Yadav, was also associated with the Bhojpuri movie industry. An official said Mukesh was trying his luck in the industry as a lyricist. Gajendra, who also used to run an orchestra for wedding ceremonies, often obliged Mukesh by using his songs. Sources said Giri used his contacts in the Bhojpuri movie industry to engage Sharma, Giri and Yadav after being approached by Shamshul Huda, an alleged UAE-based ISI operative, to carry out subversive activities in India. Huda, who was deported to Nepal from the UAE, had allegedly funded Giri's group to carry out train derailments.

The role of Huda, a Nepalese citizen, is suspected in the train derailment near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh and an abortive bid to do the same by blowing up the railway track near Ghorasahan in East Champaran district. The NIA quizzed Moti Paswan, Mukesh Yadav and Umashankar, arrested last month, for 11 days. The trio was later produced in the NIA court, which remanded them in judicial custody. On Wednesday, the NIA had arrested Rakesh Yadav, absconding in the Ghorasahan case, from East Champaran.

Fresh FIR

A fresh case was lodged against six alleged ISI suspects at Adapur police station in East Champaran district for their alleged involvement in the bomb blast on the railway track at Kudia rail iron bridge near Nakardei railway station under East Central Railway last year.

East Champaran acting superintendent of police Suresh Prasad Choudhary said the FIR had been lodged on the statement of Pankaj Kumar, the station house officer of Chauradano police station. The accused in the case are Gajendra Sharma, Suraj Kumar, Dipu Kumar, Moti Paswan (all residents of East Champaran), Brajkishore Giri and Mohammad Mojahir Ansari (of Nepal). All five except Mojahir are in judicial custody.