Chandigarh: A suspected Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist was killed when an explosive he was trying to retrieve, went off near Naushera village, Majitha road on the outskirts of Amritsar city Tuesday morning.
Such was the intensity of the explosion that both the arms of the suspected terrorist were blown away and he died on the spot. The explosive material was in his hands when the blast took place, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), border range, Satinder Singh, said after inspecting the spot.
While a forensic team and bomb disposal squad reached the explosion site and initiated the investigation into the incident, it was yet to be ascertained whether it was an IED (improvised explosive device) blast or a grenade explosion that took place around 9.30 am in a vacant plot of a residential colony on the Majitha road bypass area.
Police believed that the explosive went off due to the mishandling by the suspected terrorists while retrieving the consignment. Stating that the deceased was a member of some terrorist outfit as suggested from the material found from his pocket, police, however, held that his identity was yet to be ascertained.
Residents living in the proximity of the spot said that such was the intensity of the blast that it was heard even a kilometre away.
OPPN TAKES ON AAP GOVT
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring expressed concern over the security situation in the state in view of the bomb blast in Amritsar. Stating that it was an ominous sign and people were feeling scared and apprehensive about it, he said that ``“We don’t want to press the panic buttons, but the situation in Punjab is turning alarming day by day”.
The BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh condemned the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government for what he held as its utter failure in maintaining law and order in Punjab and demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) take over the probe to expose the broader terror nexus operating in Punjab.
