Amritsar: An alert sounded in Punjab a day after two back-to-back explosions rocked areas near Border Security Force (BSF) establishments in Jalandhar and Amritsar, including one close to the BSF headquarters in the border state. While no casualties were reported, Punjab Police and central agencies launched a high-level probe and intensified security across the state.
The first blast took place near the BSF headquarters at Jalandhar’s BSF Chowk when a parked scooter exploded in a busy locality. Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying that the scooter caught fire moments after the explosion, triggering panic among people in the area.
Hours later, another explosion occurred late Tuesday night in the Khasa area of Amritsar outside an Army camp located near BSF installations. Preliminary suspicion suggests a motorcycle-borne assailant may have hurled a grenade at the site. The area is around 15 kilometres from the Attari-Wagah international border.
Amritsar Rural Police SP Aditya Warrier said the blast occurred between 10.30 pm and 11 pm outside the Army camp. Police, Army personnel and forensic teams rushed to the spot to investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, CCTV footage from Jalandhar showed flames erupting from the scooter after the blast, with debris scattering across the road. A man standing near the vehicle was seen fleeing immediately after the explosion.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur said it was too early to draw conclusions. She said the scooter driver and another individual were being questioned while CCTV footage was being examined to establish the sequence of events.
According to PTI, the scooter rider was identified as 22-year-old Gurpreet Singh, a delivery agent who regularly visited the area for parcel deliveries. A relative claimed the scooter suddenly caught fire when Gurpreet approached it, and that he immediately informed his father about the incident.
Opposition parties targeted the AAP government over the blasts. Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring termed the incident “deeply alarming” and alleged a collapse of law and order in the sensitive border state.
Police, forensic experts, dog squads and bomb disposal teams continued investigations at both sites, while authorities said the exact nature and cause of the explosions were yet to be confirmed.
