CHANDIGARH: A person was killed in an explosion in Amritsar on Monday while allegedly attempting to retrieve a consignment of explosives, with police suspecting links to the Pakistan-backed terror group Babbar Khalsa. The deceased is yet to be identified.
The incident occurred near Decent Avenue Colony on Majitha Road Bypass. Sources said the police had prior intelligence about the injured individual and are now working to identify him and his accomplices.
Officials claim to possess strong evidence connecting the deceased to a terrorist group backed by Pakistan.
Police said forensic officials are examining the make of the explosive. Sources added that the blast was so intense that both arms of the deceased were blown off above the wrists.
Eyewitnesses said they heard a loud blast, after which locals rushed to the spot and informed the police. Officials from Sadar police station and the bomb disposal squad reached the scene and launched an investigation. CCTV footage from the area is being reviewed.
“The injured man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and he succumbed to his injuries. We received information about a blast and found a severely injured person at the spot,” said an official.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Amritsar (Rural), Maninder Singh, said that police had been tracking the individual who sustained serious injuries in the blast.
He claimed the man had come to retrieve the consignment and that the explosion occurred due to mishandling of the bomb. “It was an explosives assignment and it probably came from Pakistan, and the deceased came to pick it up,” he said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Border Range), Satinder Singh, said that as per the initial investigation, the ISI-backed Babbar Khalsa was behind the incident, aiming to disturb peace in the region.
“As per circumstantial evidence, it is clear that this man was a member of some terrorist organisation. We have got some vital clues from the man's pocket which indicated his links with some terror outfit,” he said.
Initially, the police had ruled out the involvement of gangsters or terrorists and had suspected that the person might be a scrap dealer who had found an old bomb among metal waste and was attempting to dismantle it when it exploded.
