Scare after grenade attack at wine shop in Batala Focal Point area

An unsuccessful grenade attack made at a wine shop in the heavily populated Focal Point area of the city last night created a scare among residents even as the police had a hard time in dispelling rumours emanating from the incident.

Later, the cops called the grenade a “dummy object” and said that some miscreants were playing mischief and would be arrested soon.

The area keeps teeming with migrant labourers working in the industries located nearby.

Although the grenade’s pin was removed, it failed to explode. It was hurled at 10.30 pm on Friday at the Rimple wine shop.

An FIR was registered at the Civil Lines police station.

Even as the police downplayed the incident, a social media post released by gangsters Manu Agwan and Gopi Nawashahria pointed fingers at the police version.

They said “that anybody playing with the lives of Punjab’s youngsters by selling drugs and other intoxicants would be dealt with severely.”

On the other hand, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Suhail Qasim Mir addressed the terrified residents through a social media platform in an attempt to dismiss their fears. “We called in a special team from Amritsar and they confirmed it was a dummy object and not a grenade. We have stumbled upon some clues and will arrest the accused soon,” he said.

Sources say the cops called the grenade a ‘dummy object’ to make sure panic does not set among the residents. “The cops’ motive is good but the sinister designs of the gangsters cannot be simply wished away. There should be a proper investigation into the sequence of events leading to the incident,” said an officer not willing to be quoted.

The police version does not have a ring of authenticity to it as on previous occasions, the cops have embarrassed themselves by claiming “nothing serious happened”, when in fact, there have been repeated grenade explosions at sensitive places like police stations.

In December last year, when a powerful explosion rocked the Majitha police station, senior officers termed it as “tyre burst”. Likewise, on every occasion there has been a blast, the cops have come up with an alibi.

Repeated grenade and IED attacks in the border area have forced the cops to take corrective measures like increasing the height of walls of police stations. Such steps, said sources, were designed to act as a deterrent against gangsters and also to restore the confidence of the people in the police force.