Panic after explosion heard outside police post in Amritsar

Panic gripped Amritsar’s Gumtala police chowki after an explosion was heard on Thursday night around 8.45.

While police maintained that it was a car radiator going off, a social media post, purportedly by USA-based terrorist Happy Passia, went viral soon after the incident. In the post, Passia claimed responsibility for what he termed was a grenade attack carried out to avenge the killing of two of his associates in a fake encounter.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP, West) Shiv Darshan Singh said, “Chowki in-charge, ASI Rajinder Singh was busy in public dealing when he heard a loud explosion outside. He rushed out and saw that his car window was shattered. On enquiring, he found that the car’s radiator had exploded. There are rumours that it was a grenade blast but it is not true.”

The ACP added that no loss of life or property has been reported.

The incident comes close on the heels of a series of explosions that have rocked police installations in Punjab since November last year.

On November 23, an IED was found planted outside Ajnala police station. This was followed by an ‘explosion’ in Gurbaksh Nagar, Amritsar. On December 2, a hand grenade was lobbed at the Ansaro police post in Nawanshahr. On December 4, a blast occurred at Majitha police station in Amritsar. On December 13, a similar incident was reported from Batala. On December 17, an explosion was reported at Islamabad police station, Amritsar. On December 18, a blast took place outside the Bakshiwal police chowki in Gurdaspur. On December 20, a blast took place at Wadala Bangar Police post in Gurdaspur. The accused in the explosions were killed in an encounter in Uttar Pradesh, police have claimed.