Amarinder Singh calls Amritsar grenade blast 'clear case of terrorism', says investigators following up on leads

A day after a grenade attack in Punjab's Amritsar killed three people and left over 20 injured, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that the incident was a “clear case of terrorism” and the investigators are following up “some leads”. “All injured in the attack are out of danger. We have already announced that our government will give Rs five lakh compensation to the kin of the deceased and provide jobs to the family members,” Amarinder, who was addressing the media after his visit to the blast site, said on Monday. He added that the injured are being given free treatment. The chief minister said that an investigation was underway, but the authorities can still not confirm the identity of the attackers. “Some leads are there. We have to wait and see… Earlier, an announcement was made that some people had infiltrated from Jammu and Kashmir. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and forensic teams are here. Until the investigation is complete, it’s difficult to say anything,” he said. Amarinder said that the attack should not be given a communal colour. “This is a clear case of terrorism. Though it was a congregation that they targetted, this could’ve happened to anybody,” he said.

Amritsar blast: Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh visits Guru Nanak Hospital to meet those injured. pic.twitter.com/02nrpHKMk5

— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2018

Hitting out at Amarinder, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that the chief minister has failed the people and is incapable of running the government. Three persons, including a preacher, were killed when two-motorcycle borne men threw grenade on a religious congregation inside the Nirankari Bhavan’s prayer hall at Adliwal village near Amritsar’s Rajasansi. The grenade was lobbed by one of the two people who had their faces covered. One person pointed a gun at the volunteers manning the gate, while the other one hurled the bomb after which they escaped, police and eyewitnesses told PTI. Earlier on Monday, Amarinder announced a reward of Rs 50 lakh for anybody providing information on those involved in the grenade blast. The information can be provided on the Punjab Police helpline number 181 and the identity of the informer will be kept a secret. The attack took place while Punjab was on high alert after an input claiming “a group of six-seven JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed) terrorists were in Punjab” and they were “planning to move to Delhi”. Moreover, the security agencies were also on alert after four people fled with an SUV after threatening its driver at gunpoint near Madhopur in Pathankot district a few days ago. On Friday, the police in Gurdaspur had pasted posters of Zakir Musa, the chief of Jammu and Kashmir-based Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind terror outfit with reported links to JeM. With inputs from PTI