Grenade attack on prayer hall in Punjab
Three killed, 10 injured in blast during Sikh religious gathering on outskirts of Amritsar
Three people died and at least 10 were injured in a grenade attack on a prayer hall brimming with around 200 devotees on the outskirts of Amritsar in Punjab yesterday.
The blast occurred during a religious gathering of the Nirankari sect at Nirankari Bhavan in Adliwal village near Amritsar’s Rajasansi, close to the international airport.
Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora, who rushed to the spot along with senior Punjab Police officers, said the incident was a “terror act”.
“We are taking it as a terror act. This incident is against a group and not an individual. That’s why we are taking it as a terror act. We did not have any specific input of a strike against any particular group,” he told the media in Adliwal village.
Witnesses told the police that two men on a motorcycle, their faces covered, forced entry to the sect campus by pointing a pistol at a woman volunteer at the gate.
“Everything happened within a couple of minutes. They got in, threw the grenade and fled,” one man told the police.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh yesterday directed the police to immediately enhance security arrangements at all sensitive places, terming it as “the first such indiscriminate attack on innocent people ■ in recent past”.
A crater 8cm in diameter was formed by the impact of the explosion and was being examined by the forensic team. The safety valve of the grenade has also been found, he said.
“The possibility of involvement of ISI-based Khalistani/ Kashmiri terror groups cannot be ruled out. Police teams are investigating various angles,” the CM said in a statement.
The attack yesterday happened amid a high alert issued on November 14 by the Punjab Police regarding the movement of 6-7 militants in the state. ■