Amritsar: The person killed in a bomb blast in Amritsar, Punjab, on Monday is now suspected to be a member of the Pakistan-backed Khalistani group Babbar Khalsa. He is suspected to have been killed while attempting to retrieve a consignment of explosives, the police have said.
The incident occurred near the Decent Avenue Colony on Majitha Road Bypass. Authorities say there is strong evidence linking him to the proscribed Babbar Khalsa. Efforts are now on to identify him. The Babbar Khalsa is involved in the smuggling of arms, explosives and narcotics into Punjab.
Officials said that forensic experts are examining the nature of the explosive. It has been claimed that the blast was so powerful that both arms of the deceased were blown off above the wrists.
Locals said they heard a blast, after which they rushed to the spot and informed the police. Officials from Sadar police station and the bomb disposal squad reached the scene and launched an investigation. CCTV footage from the area is being reviewed.
“The injured man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and he succumbed to his injuries. We received information about a blast and found a severely injured person at the spot,” an official said.
According to Maninder Singh, senior superintendent of police (rural), Amritsar, the police had been tracking the individual. The man had come to retrieve the consignment and the explosion occurred due to mishandling of the bomb, he said.
“It was an explosives consignment and it probably came from Pakistan. The deceased came to pick it up,” he added.
Satinder Singh, DIG (Border Range), Punjab Police, said: “As per the initial investigation, the ISI-backed Babbar Khalsa was behind the incident, aiming to disturb peace in the region.”
The police had initially not been able to realise the gravity of the situation. They had believed that the dead man was a scrap dealer who had found an old bomb among metal waste and was attempting to dismantle it when it exploded.
