E-Paper
'Can’t be ignored…': Punjab Police on terror angle in RPG attack on Mohali HQ
Mohali bomb blast: A rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG, shattered windowpanes on one of the floors of the building; fortunately nobody was injured in the explosion.
Punjab police on Tuesday refused to rule out the terror angle in the rocket-propelled grenade attack yesterday on its headquarters in Mohali. Senior officer Ravinder Pal Singh was quoted by news agency ANI as saying 'It can't be ignored. We are investigating it'. Pal Singh, Superintendent of Police (Mohali HQ), also told reporters forensic examinations were underway.
"It can't be ignored. We are investigating... It is a minor blast. Attack happened from outside the building. It has been done with rocket-type fire. No casualty or loss happened. Our senior officers and FSL team are investigating it," he said.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann has said anyone trying to disturb the peace will be dealt with strictly. "Police is investigating explosion in Mohali. Anybody who tries to spoil the atmosphere in Punjab will not be spared," he tweeted.
Mann met this morning with the state's top cop and other senior officers. He later told reporters some suspects had already been arrested and that further details were likely to emerge by this evening.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party ousted the Congress and swept to power in Punjab in February, also tweeted, calling the blast a 'cowardly act of those who want to disturb the peace of Punjab'.
READ: Punjab CM on Mohali blast - 'Those trying to spoil…' Kejriwal reacts too
On Monday night a 'minor explosion' was reported at Punjab Police's Intelligence HQ in Mohali's SAS Nagar area.
Hours earlier there was reportedly a request to beef up security.
A rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG, shattered windowpanes on one of the floors of the building. No one, however, was injured in the explosion.
The blast comes after two letters were received - reportedly from a commander of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad.
The letters warned of attacks on railway stations, bridges, places of worship and other major installations, as well as VIPs.
The attack also comes weeks after an explosive device was found in Chandigarh’s Burail jail.
It has also prompted a predictable round of political attacks, with the deposed Congress lashing out; former state home minister and Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa called it 'a sign of deep communalism'.
"I strongly condemn this incident and urge the Punjab Police to investigate and take stern action against those who are intent on disturbing the peace of Punjab," he declared.
With input from ANI, PTI
