Security beefed up at Gumtala flyover in Amritsar

Though the police have denied a grenade blast outside Gumtala police post on Amritsar-Attari bypass road, the administration has been putting up huge iron frames along with tin sheets at the Gumtala chowk flyover as a preventive measure.

On Thursday night, a blast occurred underneath a car outside Gumtala police chowki. The police claimed that it was a car radiator blast even as ISI-backed terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) claimed responsibility on its social media handle.

US-based gangster-turned-terrorist Harpreet Singh alias Happy Pashia who was also behind the earlier blasts in Amritsar and Gurdaspur, had termed it a hand grenade blast while claiming responsibility.

Despite initial denial, the police have launched a thorough probe into the incident with Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar saying that they were open to probe all possible angles though he maintained that it was radiator blast in the car belonging to ASI Tejinder Singh posted at Gumtala police post.

It has been reliably learnt that police teams have scanned CCTV footage in the adjoining areas and at roads leading to Gumtala chowk. They are looking into suspicious activity of miscreants. Besides, the police have also intensified the night domination operation besides movement of cops in civvies to nail the unscrupulous elements following the blast.

It is believed that bike-borne miscreants hurled a grenade from Gumtala flyover in order to attack the police chowki. However, as the entire premises was covered with green net in view of similar attacks at the police establishments in Punjab earlier, the explosive material bounced back after hitting the green net.

Nevertheless, no police official confirmed this, but putting up big iron frames and tin sheets hints towards it.

Amritsar has witnessed around five such instances while the IED attached with RDX planted outside Ajnala police station did not explode. A total of nine incidents have occurred in Punjab. Apart from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Nawanshehar had witnessed the explosions at police establishments.