E-Paper
Mohali blast: Suspected rocket attack at Punjab intelligence headquarters
No one was injured in the blast at Punjab police headquarters in Mohali; rocket attack took place around 7.45 pm, according to the cops. Police have cordoned off the area and an alert has been sounded
An explosion, believed to be a result of a rocket propelled grenade attack, took place at the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali on Monday night, shattering windowpanes on one of the floors of the building.
No one, however, was injured in the explosion, which political parties termed “disturbing” and “shocking”. The police have cordoned off the area and an alert has been sounded.
“A rocket-like thing was fired at the building around 7.45 pm. No casualty or loss happened. Our senior officers and forensic teams are investigating it,” Mohali SP (headquarters) Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu told reporters. He said an FIR was being lodged over the incident. Asked if it was a terror attack, he said the investigation was going on. A quick reaction team of the Chandigarh police was also deputed near the intelligence office building.
The blast comes on a day when Punjab intelligence wing asked the law enforcement agencies in the state to beef up security following the receipt of two letters from a commander of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, threatening to target the VIPs in the state and blow up railway stations, bridges, worship places and other major installations. On Sunday, police had arrested two bike-borne men with an improvised explosive device (IED) packed with around 1.5kg of RDX following a tip-off in Tarn Taran district.
Senior officials of the Punjab police have reached the spot. Police said a search operation has been launched to nab the culprits. The explosion also comes close on the heels of the recovery of an explosive device near Burail Jail in Chandigarh on April 24
A senior intelligence official, who inspected the spot, said that prima-facie a grenade-like thing hit the wall just adjacent to the windows. “May be it was not properly propelled and probably that was the reason it didn’t cause a major damage,” said an ADGP-rank officer.
“A rocket-like” thing was fired from the side of Sohana Charitable Hospital that is situated next to the intelligence office, said another official.
Punjab DGP VK Bhawra while talking to HT said: “A preliminary probe has revealed that something was fired at the intelligence headquarters from a distance. It hit an office table and caused some damage.”
The blast was witnessed on the third floor of the building that houses intelligence wing, special task force against drugs, anti-gangster task force and other secret and highly strategic wings of Punjab Police.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh expressed shock over the explosion and urged CM Bhagwant Mann to take strict action against those who were behind this incident.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, “Disturbing news of a blast at the @PunjabPoliceInd intelligence bureau building in Mohali.”
