“They showed us a pistol and forced their way into the prayer hall. Within a few seconds, we heard the sound of a blast. There was smoke all around the hall with people screaming for help,” said Sukhbir Singh, an eyewitness of the grenade attack during the Nirankari congregation in Amritsar’s Rajasansi area around noon Sunday. Ranjit Singh (21), an attendant on duty at the parking lot of the Satsang Bhawan where the congregation was on, said, “One of the two men who lobbed the grenade inside the prayer hall aimed his pistol at me while he was running towards his accomplice sitting on a motorbike. It all happened within a few seconds and both of them sped away”. READ | Three killed, 21 injured in grenade attack on Nirankari gathering Another eyewitness, Rahul, told The Indian Express that he tried stopping the attackers for checking when they were entering the Satsang Bhawan, but they brandished their weapon and pushed through. “I got scared. Before I could react, the blast happened,” Rahul said. A Class XII student, Harjot Singh (18), said that he spotted the hand grenade the instant it was was hurled inside the prayer hall by the attackers. “I noticed that something had been thrown inside the prayer hall. It fell near the stage. Within moments, I realised that it was a hand grenade. I tried to reach for it hoping to throw it outside, but in no time the blast took place.” Harjot has sustained severe injuries on his legs in the blast and is undergoing treatment at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital of Amritsar. ALSO READ | Complete failure of state, Centre, says AAP Harjot’s father, Kuldeep Singh, who is an Ayurvedic doctor, told The Indian Express that he tried to catch hold of one of the two attackers, but the man pushed him away and ran out of the hall. Kuldeep too sustained multiple injuries on his head, stomach, arms and legs. Doctors at Guru Nanak Dev hospital that Kuldeep will have to undergo multiple surgeries to recover. ALSO READ | 40 years ago, clash between Nirankaris, Sikh radicals pushed Punjab into dark days of terror Jasbir Kaur, another injured admitted at the Guru Nanak Dev hospital, said, “I did not immediately realise what had happened. There was a loud noise and I realised something had hit me with a strong force. My son, Rajan, and other people who were present in the prayer hall brought me to the hospital.” She added that a few persons also sustained injuries when a stampede-like situation developed after the blast.
