Blast at Punjab intel HQ in Mohali; RPG used, say cops
No report of injury to anyone; ‘rocket-like thing’ fired at building around 7.45 pm, says Mohali SP (headquarters) ; terror attack not ruled out
CHANDIGARH : An explosion, believed to be a result of a suspected rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack, took place at the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali on Monday night, shattering windowpanes on one of the floors of the building.
No one, however, was injured in the explosion, The police have cordoned off the area and an alert has been sounded.
“A rocket-like thing was fired at the building around 7.45 pm. No casualty or loss reported. Our senior officers and forensic teams are investigating it,” Mohali SP (headquarters) Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu told reporters. He said an FIR was being lodged over the incident. Asked if it was a terror attack, he said the investigation was going on. A quick response team has been deputed.
The blast comes on a day when Punjab intelligence wing asked the law enforcement agencies in the state to beef up security following the receipt of two letters from a commander of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-mohammad, threatening to target the VIPS in the state and blow up major installations. On Sunday, police had arrested two persons with an improvised explosive device packed with around 1.5kg of RDX following a tip-off in Tarn Taran district. The explosion also comes close on the heels of the recovery of an explosive device near Burail Jail in Chandigarh on April 24
A senior intelligence official, who inspected the spot, said that prima-facie a grenade-like thing hit the wall just adjacent to the windows. “May be it was not properly propelled and probably that was the reason it didn’t result in a major damage,” said an Adgp-rank officer.
Punjab DGP VK Bhawra while talking to HT said: “A preliminary probe has revealed that something was fired at the intelligence headquarters from a distance. It hit an office table and caused some damage.”
The building houses highly strategic wings of Punjab Police.