Blast outside Amritsar temple, no one hurt; police see ISI role

There were several incidents of explosions targeting police posts in Amritsar and Gurdaspur in the past four months but this is the first such attack on a temple. DGP Gaurav Yadav had earlier said “foot soldiers” carry out such blasts that are masterminded by individuals sitting abroad.

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the police were informed about the incident at around 2 am Saturday by the temple priest, who was sleeping inside the building and had escaped unhurt.

Bhullar said security has been stepped up around the site and police have covered the damaged wall with a green net. A forensic team collected samples from the spot, Bhullar said, adding the nature of explosives will be ascertained after examination. Police have taken CCTV footage from nearby cameras.

He said police teams were working to trace the men involved in the blast and they would be nabbed soon. “Our teams are following them… this incident will also be traced,” he said.

Bhullar said that Pakistan’s ISI was instigating youth from poor families to carry out such acts. “I want to warn all the youths not to fall into the trap of Pakistan’s ISI. All the previous incidents were traced and the accused were arrested… accused belonged to economically weaker families. I want to warn them not to destroy their lives. The police will take strictest action against them,” said Bhullar.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also hold the Home portfolio, said continuous efforts are being made to destabilize Punjab and create unrest in the state. Being a border state, a number of forces inimical to the state were chalking out nefarious designs to disturb the hard-earned peace of Punjab, Mann said, and added that state police has always foiled such attempts.

Pointing to “drones coming from Pakistan”, Mann said attempts were made in the past to foment trouble in the state. “Punjab is completely safe in terms of law and order,” he said.