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Amritsar temple grenade attack: One accused killed in encounter, another flees
The encounter ensued when SHO Chheharta tried to stop the motorcycle on which the accused
One of the two accused in the Amritsar temple grenade attack case succumbed to bullet injuries after an encounter broke out as the duo allegedly tried to flee the Rajasansi area of the Punjab city on Monday morning.
Punjab Police tried to nab the two accused in the temple grenade attack case during an encounter in Rajasansi when both were trying to flee the area on a motorcycle.
According to police officials quoted by news agency ANI, the encounter ensued when SHO Chheharta tried to stop the motorcycle on which the accused, identified as Gursidak and Vishal, were riding. After encountering the police party, both the accused left their motorcycle and fired at the cops.
The police revealed that a bullet fired by the accused hit head constable Gurpreet Singh in his arm, injuring him. Another bullet grazed the turban of inspector Amolak Singh. One bullet also hit the vehicle that the police party was traveling in.
“Inspector Vinod Kumar fired in self-defence from his pistol which injured the accused Gursidak. Other accused managed to flee from the spot,” the police officials stated.
Gursidak was nabbed at the spot and taken to the civil hospital for treatment. But he succumbed to the bullet injury sustained during the encounter. The police officer injured in the encounter is undergoing treatment.
The cops have registered a First Information Report (FIR) on the incident at the airport police station.
Also read: Punjab: Foreign-based terror modules behind spate of grenade attacks, reveals police probe
The Amritsar temple grenade attack
The grenade attack on Thakurdwara Temple in Amritsar occurred on Friday night, with CCTV footage showing two masked men on a motorcycle lobbing the grenade at the temple.
Amritsar commissioner GPS Bhullar said at the time that he suspected the involvement of Pakistan's ISI in the blast. He added that they lure youth into creating disturbances in Punjab.
“We got information at 2 am and rushed to the spot right away. A forensic team was called... We checked the CCTV and spoke to the nearby people. The thing is that Pakistan's ISI lures our youth into creating disturbances in Punjab," Bhullar said.
The police and Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party government had promised to nab the accused within days while the opposition slammed the ruling party for the deterioration of law and order in the state. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla lashed out at the ruling Aam Aadmi party for what he called a "terrible law and order situation".
"Ever since Aam Aadmi Party's government came to power, law and order situation has become terrible... All these grenade attacks have happened in a chained way, with some happening on police stations as well... Whereas, the police is busy with the protection of Arvind Kejriwal," he was quoted by ANI as saying.
Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal warned the youth not to get involved in such activities and promised swift action in the case.
