Bomb Blast in Punjab : 3 Dead, 20 Injured

In a highly unfortunate incident, a bomb blast took place in Punjab's Amritsar killing 3 people and severely injuring 20 people. A grenade was thrown on a religious congregation on Sunday night. As per reports, two motorcycle-borne youth, who were in their masks with faces covered, have hurled the grenade onto the Nirankari Bhavan in Amritsar's Rajasansi village. A religious congregation of the Nirankaris was being conducted inside the Bhavan at the time of the incident. The Sant Nirankari Mission is a spiritual organization and the Bhavan here lies close to the international airport. The Director General of Police Suresh Arora, who along with senior police officers rushed to the spot, told media that the incident prima facie appeared to be a terrorist act.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

After the incident, the Bhavan was sealed by the police and security was stepped up at other "Nirankari Bhavans" in Punjab. An NIA team is going to visit the blast site on Monday. At the time of the incident, about 200 devotees including many women were inside at the time of the incident. No CCTV was installed at the premises, preliminary investigations said to have found.

Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said the possibility of involvement of ISI-based Khalistani/Kashmiri terror groups could not be ruled out. He said the state won't let the "forces of terror" to destroy the hard-earned peace. In the wake of the explosion, he directed the police to immediately enhance security arrangements at all sensitive places. Forensic teams have been rushed to the spot and all angles were being investigated, said the chief minister, adding that the possibility of involvement of ISI-based Khalistani/Kashmiri terror groups could not be ruled out.

It can be noted that Punjab had gone through dark days of militancy in the 1980s and early 1990s and faced few terror attacks in recent years including the one in Pathankot over two years ago.



SOURCE: