Negligence and a blast: 30 Amritsar shops gutted

So strong was the explosion that the shops in the neighbouring complex came crumbling down, the trees lay uprooted, window panes were shattered even at a distance of two kilometres, and at least a 100 vehicles were damaged. At the blast site itself was a huge five-foot-deep crater.

Of the 18 persons injured, Chaman Lal is battling for life at the local Kakkar Hospital. Iqbal Chand, an eyewitness, said he saw some policemen parking motorbikes at the spot barely a few minutes before the explosion. Some others said they saw two men setting the malkhana waste on fire. ‘‘Then there was this earthshaking roar, and we were blinded by dust,’’ says Ashwani Sodhi, who was caught in the stampede that followed when panic-stricken people streamed out of the adjoining complex. Ashok Kumar, a tea-stall owner who also suffered injuries, remembers even asking the cops what they were setting on fire. ‘‘They said it was waste paper.’’

Senior police officials, including SSP Kultar Singh and DIG P.S. Gill, ruled out terrorist activity and attributed it to sheer carelessness. ‘‘It must have been caused when the cops decided to light a fire on the spot where a bomb or grenade was buried at some point of time ,’’ said the SSP, adding that the malkhana in charge would be suspended only after the inquiry report.

Civil Surgeon Dr H.S. Gill said the 18 injured have been admitted to Kakkar Hospital, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Civil Hospital. ‘‘All but one are out of danger now,’’ he said.