Chandigarh: Punjab was on high alert after a bomb blast occurred at the state police intelligence headquarters in Mohali, on Monday night.
"Some suspects taken into custody," Punjab Police DGP Viresh Kumar Bhawra said at meeting headed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Further details are awaited.
According to initial reports, panic gripped the area after an explosion occurred at the Punjab police intelligence HQ located in sector 77, near Sohana eye hospital, around 7:45 pm, although no damage was reported.
Stating that forensic teams had reached the spot, police that it initially appeared that a rocket propelled grenade hit the building though there was no report of major damage or injury to anyone so far. However, the entire area had been cordoned off and an alert sounded in the state, the police said.
A wall of the building, near the third floor, bore the maximum impact with shattered window panes strewn inside, indicating expertise on the part of the attackers |
A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system that fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Officers on the site said the weapon was ‘made in China’ as per the lot number written on it, reported The Indian Express.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said police are investigating the explosion at the Intelligence Wing headquarters of Punjab Police in Mohali and stressed that anyone trying to disturb peace in the state will not be spared.
A rocket-propelled grenade hit the headquarters near here on Monday night, shattering windowpanes on one of the floors of the building. No one, however, was injured in the explosion.
"The Punjab Police is investigating the explosion in Mohali. Anybody who tries to spoil the atmosphere in Punjab will not be spared," said Mann in a tweet in Punjabi.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has sought a detailed report from the police on the incident.
However, according to initial media reports, the Punjab DGP V K Bhawra had earlier said that an object was fired from a distance at the intelligence office and it had hit an office table.
Meanwhile, reacting on the incident, the former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said in his Tweet that he was shocked to hear about the blast and thankfully nobody was hurt. Saying that the brazen attack on police force was deeply concerning, he added that he urged CM to ensure perpetrators were brought to justice at the earliest.
Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal said the blast exposed “serious security lapses” and highlighted “once again the deteriorating law & order” situation in Punjab. “Thorough probe required to expose and punish those responsible,” Badal said.
State Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring termed the blast as “disturbing news”.
Former Punjab Home Minister and Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa dubbed the explosion as a “sign of deep communalism”. Condemning the incident, he urged Punjab Police “to investigate and take stern action against those who are intent on disturbing the peace of Punjab”.
Delhi BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa took potshots at the AAP-led government in Punjab.
“Tragic news! Just a week after Patiala’s clash; now a blast outside Intelligence Bureau, Mohali. Punjab Police instead of chasing Bagga should focus on state’s security. Punjab is a border state & Kejriwal shouldn’t experiment with its peace,” he said in a tweet.
The blast comes days after the arrest of a number of suspected terror operatives from Punjab and Haryana, and the recovery of an explosive device near the Burail jail in Chandigarh on April 24.
