Hand grenade lobbed at Congress leader’s house in Batala smuggled from Pakistan: Cops

Amandeep and his family were in Batala at the time of the attack; thus no one was hurt. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras showed three bike-borne men hurling the hand grenade at the house.

A day after a hand grenade was lobbed at the house of Congress leader Amandeep Kumar, son of late politician and businessman Rajinder Kumar aka Pappu Jaintipuria, in Amritsar’s Jaintipur village, police said on Thursday that the explosive had been smuggled from Pakistan.

As per the police, the family had already been provided security as they were receiving threats from gangsters. (HT File)

Amandeep and his family were in Batala at the time of the attack; thus no one was hurt. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras showed three bike-borne men hurling the hand grenade at the house.

DIG (border range) Satinder Singh said, “The accused are on the run, but police will nab them soon. The hand grenade used in the attack was smuggled from Pakistan, just like the ones that were hurled at police establishments in the state over the last two months.”

As per the police, the family had already been provided security as they were receiving threats from gangsters.

Pappu Jaintipuria, a Shiromani Akali Dal leader who had switched over the Congress, had died of natural reasons in 2024. He had also served as the chairperson of Amritsar zila parishad.

Chandigarh Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Thursday, condemned the attack on Jaintipuria’s residence and demanded the resignation of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who holds the home portfolio.

“Mann must quit the home portfolio if cannot perform efficiently. He has no right to stay in this position,” Bajwa added.

Bajwa also blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government for the poor law and order situation in the border belt of Punjab, stating that the Border Security Force (BSF) exercises its power within the jurisdiction of 50 km of the border, and Batala falls under BSF’s jurisdiction.