Man killed in Amritsar blast, police link him to ISI-backed terror outfit

A powerful blast at a vacant plot along the Majitha Road Bypass in Amritsar claimed the life of a man on Tuesday morning, with the police suspecting him to be a terrorist who had come to retrieve explosives when the incident occurred.

The police said both arms of the man, identified as Nitin of Chheharta in Amritsar, were blown off in the explosion, which took place around 9.30 am. Locals reported hearing a loud blast, which triggered panic in the area.

Senior police officials, including DIG (Border Range) Satinder Singh and SSP (Rural) Maninder Singh, visited the site and claimed that Nitin had come to collect a consignment containing an explosive device. They claimed the blast was triggered due to mishandling of the device.

The DIG said preliminary investigations pointed to the involvement of Pakistan spy agency ISI-backed terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International. “These elements use such tactics of dropping grenades at isolated places and marking the spot with identifiable objects like electric poles. They then share photographs of the site with operatives for collection,” said Satinder.

The SSP claimed they had strong evidence linking Nitin to the terror group and that he had been under surveillance for some time. Nitin’s sister, however, refuted the allegations and claimed he didn’t even own a mobile phone, questioning the police theory of being in touch with the terror outfit. The police also said Nitin was a drug addict and used to drive an auto-rickshaw along with his father to eke out a living. They said no criminal case was registered against him.

Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia condemned the AAP-led Punjab Government over the deteriorating law and order situation. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said an investigation was underway.