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Ludhiana court blast: CM Channi announces free treatment for injured persons
Soon after the blast was reported, Punjab CM Charanjit SIngh Channi said some “anti-national elements” are behind such acts in the state as election is due early next year.
Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday announced free treatment for all those who were injured in an explosion at the Ludhiana district court complex earlier in the day killing at least one person. The chief minister said this after paying a visit to the blast site and the hospitals where the injured individuals are undergoing treatment.
“I reiterate that we would not let any person disturb the hard-earned peace and communal harmony of the state,” he later wrote on Twitter. Channi further said the injured persons are admitted across three hospitals in Ludhiana.
Earlier, he said an investigation into the matter is underway. “Some people want to create disturbance in Punjab. The state government is on alert,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Channi visited the blast site and met the injured along with Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
Soon after the blast was reported, Channi said some “anti-national elements” are behind such acts in the state since assembly polls are scheduled next year. “Those found guilty will not be spared,” he said.
The blast occurred in the washroom on the second floor of the building that houses eight courtrooms around 12.22pm. Not many people were present during the time of the incident as lawyers were on a strike.
Ludhiana police commissioner Gurpreet Bhullar said the blast may have been executed by a human bomb and the lone victim may have carried the bomb or was “very close to the same”.
However, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya nothing can be said firmly about the case at the moment. “Only experts can tell the kind of explosives used,” he told ANI, adding that forensic teams from the district, state and central levels are probing the matter.
