Police station in Punjab’s Tarn Taran attacked with RPG; probe ordered
As per the sources, the rocket hit a pillar and the wall of the police station which was slightly damaged while a few police personnel were at the station on duty
Some unknown miscreants attacked the Sarhali police station in Punjab’s Tarn Taran with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) on Friday night, police said.
According to the police, the police station situated on the Amritsar-Bathinda national highway came under attack at around 11.20pm Saturday.
The rocket penetrated the iron gate of the police station and hit the wall inside which was slightly damaged while a few police personnel were at the station on duty, fortunately, no one was injured.
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Following the incident, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan and other senior police officials along with forensic team reached the spot and an investigation into the matter has been launched.
Amid the incident, district general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav visited the police station in the morning and addressed the media persons. He said the grenade recovered seemed to have been smuggled from across the border and a case under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2008 (UAPA) has been registered against unknow suspects.
“As per our preliminary investigation, it has been found that last night at around 11:22 pm the grenade was fired from the highway using RPG which hit the Suwidha Center of Sarhali police station. Regarding this, we have registered an FIR under the UAPA and our forensic team has reached the spot. We are investigating it technically and forensically to gather clues from the scene of the crime to reconstruct what exactly happened.”
“The launcher and the propeller have been recovered. The preliminary facts which have come to the fore are that there is a possibility that the military-grade hardware is smuggled from across the border,” added the DGP.
The DGP further said that this year they Punjab police seized many drones, arms and ammunition. “It seems that the enemy country is feeling rattled and to distract us, a coward attack was launched at night,” he said.
This is the second such incident in Punjab in the last seven months where the police station was attacked with a rocket. Earlier, an RPG was fired at the Punjab police’s intelligence headquarters in Mohali on May 9.
The mastermind of the Mohali RPG attack was said to be Canada-based notorious gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa who is still absconding. Facing more than 30 criminal cases, Landa belongs to Tarn Taran’s Harike village, which is 12 km from Sarhali.
On a question about the reports that ‘Sikhs for Justice’ head Gurpatwant Singh Pannu has claimed responsibility for the attack, the DGP said they will investigate the claim. “It could also be disinformation to divert the attention of the police from the real culprits,” he added.
About Lakhbir Landa, he said, “We have arrested many persons linked to Landa already. Nobody will be spared even if Landa’s involvement will come to the fore. He will soon be extradited.”
