Chandigarh, March 15 (IANS) BJP national General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday condemned the grenade attack on the Thakurdwara temple in Amritsar and demanded a CBI investigation to expose the forces attempting to disturb law and order in Punjab.
Expressing serious concern over the repeated grenade attacks in the state, Chugh said the AAP government, led by Bhagwant Mann, has completely failed to control disruptive elements. Chugh pointed out that while such attacks earlier targeted police stations, the targeting of a Hindu temple with a grenade attack “is a serious and alarming development”.
He said there appears to be a deliberate attempt to create communal and social divisions in the state. Demanding that the state police be given a free hand to tackle such elements, Chugh reiterated his call for the CBI investigation into the series of grenade attacks occurring in Punjab.
He criticised the AAP government, stating that instead of addressing law and order concerns, it seems more preoccupied with entertaining party leaders from Delhi. As a result, the government has completely failed, leading to a growing sense of insecurity among the people of Punjab.
In a daring incident, two bike-borne miscreants hurled a hand grenade at the temple and triggered a powerful blast. However, no one was injured in the explosion.
This was the 12th such incident in the past four months in Punjab which shares a long border with Pakistan. On previous occasions, the attacks were on police establishments, mainly comprising police stations. The CCTV footage showed the miscreants arriving at the location on a bike with a flag mounted on it. After waiting for a few seconds, one of them threw a grenade, and both fled the spot.
The attack took place on Friday night in the Khandwala area of Amritsar. The temple’s wall was damaged in the explosion. Fortunately, a priest and his family, who were residing on the upper floor of the temple, were unharmed.
Local resident Kiranpreet Singh, who is an advocate by profession, said, “At around 12 a.m., two people came on a bike, stopped outside the Thakur Dwara Mandir, conducted a recce and threw a grenade at the temple.
“The blast was so powerful that it also affected the nearby buildings, breaking windowpanes. The police later reached the spot. As per the evidence, this was a grenade attack.”
Amritsar Police Commissioner, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, told the media that efforts “are being made by Pakistan to disturb the atmosphere here, and some local youths are involved in this. I urge our youths not to get involved in such activities”.
–IANS
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