Eyewitnesses said that two men with their faces covered came on a motorcycle, hurled a grenade at the Nirankari Bhawan, where a religious ceremony was underway, and fled
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Punjab police personnel outside
the Nirankari Bhawan in Rajasansi village following a grenade attack on Sunday.
Photo: AFP
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New Delhi: Days after
intelligence agencies informed the local police about the presence of seven
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, including Zakir Musa in Punjab, a grenade
attack in Amritsar on Sunday killed three and injured 10 people.
The attack took place at a prayer
hall in Amritsar’s Rajasansi village, the police said. Eyewitnesses said that
two men with their faces covered came on a motorcycle, hurled a grenade at the
Nirankari Bhawan, where a religious ceremony was underway, and fled.
On Friday and Saturday, the local
police and intelligence agencies had issued a red alert saying that the group
of JeM terrorists were “planning to move towards Delhi”.
“It (this incident) appears to
have a terror angle. Because it is against a group (of people) and it is not
against any individual. There is no reason to throw a hand grenade on a group
of people, so we will take it as a terrorist act. Till proven otherwise, prima
facie we will take it as that,” Punjab director general of police Suresh Arora
told PTI.
While chief minister Amarinder
Singh reviewed the law and order situation in the state, the Union home
ministry also said that it was keeping a watch on security developments.
“Deeply anguished by the death of
innocent people in a grenade attack at Amritsar in Punjab today. It is a
reprehensible act of violence. My condolences to the families who have lost
their loved ones in this attack and prayers for speedy recovery of the injured.
Spoke to the Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt. Amarinder who has apprised me of
the situation in the wake of grenade attack in Amritsar. Strongest possible
action will be taken against the perpetrators of this crime,” Union home
minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
On the chief minister’s
directions, security has been beefed up across all Nirankari Bhawans in the
state, the home minister added.
While condemning the incident,
Singh announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the kin of those killed and free
treatment to the injured.
“My heart goes out to the victims
of the Amritsar bomb blast and their families...My government will give Rs 5
lakh to the kin of each of the dead and free treatment to the injured. Have
asked the district administration to extend all help,” the chief minister said
in a tweet.
PTI contributed to this
story.
Source:https://www.livemint.com/Politics/v1buq6OKCa7c207nrh8q0L/3-killed-10-hurt-in-Amritsar-grenade-attack.html
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