Strongly condemning the grenade attack on a religious congregation in Amritsar that left three people dead and many injured, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday vowed that he will not let the “forces of terror” destroy the hard-earned peace in the State.
Making an appeal to the people “not to panic and remain calm”, the Chief Minister tweeted, “We will not let the forces of terror destroy our hard-earned peace.”
“I appeal to the people of Punjab to maintain peace in wake of Amritsar bomb blast. I urge them not to panic and to remain calm. We will not let the forces of terror destroy our hard earned peace,” he tweeted.
Capt Amarinder did not rule out a terror angle. “The possibility of involvement of ISI-based Khalistani or Kashmiri terror groups could not be ruled out. Police teams have been rushed to raid suspected hideouts of the assailants and multiple teams are investigating various angles to crack the case,” he said.
Capt Amarinder stated that the State Government was on top of things and would get to the bottom of the incident soon and ensure that the culprits are apprehended and brought to book. Nobody will be allowed to get away with trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the state, he warned.
Soon after the attack, the Chief Minister reviewed the law and order situation in the state and asked the state Home Secretary, Director General of Police, Director Generals of law and order and intelligence, to rush to Raja Sansi in Amritsar to supervise the ongoing probe into the grenade attack.
Reviewing the law and order situation following the blast, Capt Amarinder directed the Police to immediately enhance security arrangements at all sensitive places in the wake of the explosion — the first such indiscriminate attack on innocent people in recent past.
On the Chief Minister's directions, the security has been beefed up at all centres of Nirankari Bhawan in the state, said the spokesperson adding that immediately, the forensic teams rushed to the spot and all angles were being investigated on the Chief Minister’s directions.
Condemning the incident, Capt Amarinder also announced a compensation of Rs five lakh for the kin of those killed and free treatment to the injured.
“Strongly condemn the bomb blast at Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar...My heart goes out to the victims of the Amritsar bomb blast and their families... My govt will give Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the dead and free treatment to the injured. Have asked the district administration to extend all help," the Chief Minister said in a tweet.
The Chief Minister said that preliminary investigations had, so far, revealed that two men, one of them with a flowing beard, with covered faces, allegedly forced their way into the hall by brandishing a pistol. They detained the sewadar, lobbed the grenade into the prayer room, and fled on a motorcycle.
A crater, which is three-inch in diameter was formed by the impact of the explosion, and was being examined by the forensic team, he said adding that the safety valve of the grenade has also been found and was being examined.
Meanwhile, appealing to the people, he said: “Let us remain calm...the Government would ensure there is no chaos in the wake of the incident.”
“Though the state had been hit by a series of cases of targeted attacks since 2015-16, this is the first attempt, in a long time, to disturb the peace in the state through indiscriminate killings,” said the Chief Minister, adding that it strengthened the belief that Pakistan was continuing with its nefarious activities to disturb the state’s peace.