A low-intensity explosion occurred in Punjab’s Amritsar near the Golden Temple on Wednesday midnight, the third blast within a week.
Wednesday’s explosion is reported to have occurred in the pathway and park around the Golden Temple, behind the Guru Ramdas Ji Niwas (inn) building.
Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Thursday that five persons had been arrested in the low-intensity explosion cases in Amritsar, and the police were examining the matter from all possible angles. He said a Special Investigations Team would be constituted to investigate the case.
The arrested have been identified as Azad Veer Singh, Amrik Singh, Saheb Singh, Dharmendra, and Harjeet Singh. A police statement after the preliminary interrogation said the accused had accepted their crime.
The police recovered 1,100 grams of explosive material-chemicals and radical literature from the possession of the accused. They have been booked under different Sections of the Explosives Act, and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Mr. Yadav said that while examining the CCTV footage of third blast, which took place at Guru Ramdas Sarai around 12.15 a.m. on Thursday, accused Azad Veer Singh was seen going to the bathroom of the Sarai and throwing the crude bomb in the park behind it, after which the police cordoned off the area.
The DGP said that investigations found that accused persons had used containers, including energy drink cans and food packed in polythene bags to carry out blasts. using a thick thread hanging, which triggered the blasts while hitting the ground.
Mr. Yadav, while not ruling out links of arrested persons with Pakistan-based agencies or Pro-Khalistani elements, said that prima facie it seemed that the main perpetrators in this case were “individually radicalised”.
A First Information Report under Sections 9B of the Explosive Act, Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, Sections 13, 16, 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.
The two earlier low-intensity explosions had occurred on May 6 and May 8 on heritage street, with two persons sustaining minor injuries. Following this, security was beefed up in the city.
