CHANDIGARH: One person was killed and five others, including two women, were injured in a bomb explosion at the Ludhiana district court complex on Thursday. Sources said the bomb may have gone off while it was being assembled.
“One body has been recovered, but it is yet to be identified. Probably, the person was carrying the explosives,”
Ludhiana Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said, adding that he is the prime suspect. A DNA test will be conducted on the unidentified body. All the five injured are out of danger.
Police have registered a case against unknown persons under various charges including sedition. The blast took place around 12.15 pm in a toilet on the second floor of the court complex. The explosion was so powerful that the roof and the walls of the washroom collapsed.
An iron grill flew in the air and fell on the vehicles parked below, smashing the window panes some cars. The use of IED in the blast is suspected. The court was not crowded as usual on Thursday since the lawyers were on strike.
A high alert has been sounded in the sensitive border state, which is going to polls early next year. The Centre has sought a report from the state government. Two separate teams of the NIA and NSG have also reached the spot.
Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi said anti-national elements are trying to destablise the state ahead of polls, while home minister S S Randhawa blamed “external forces”.