Blast toll 6, NSG helping in probe

Gurdeep Singh Mann & Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Maur (Bathinda), February 1

Punjab DGP Suresh Arora today visited the site of the twin blasts at Maur Mandi that took place a few metres from where Congress candidate Harminder Jassi had addressed a rally late Tuesday evening. Jassi escaped with minor bruises. 

Arora, who ordered a bullet-proof vehicle for Jassi, said forensic experts and bomb squad teams of the National Security Guards (NSG) were helping the Punjab Police to determine the nature of the explosives used and get to the perpetrators. 

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Meanwhile, the blast toll has risen from three to six. Among the dead are Jassi’s aide Harpal Singh Pali (40), Ashok Kumar (35) and his daughter Barkha Rani (7), Saurav Singla (13), Ripandeep Singh (9) and Jap Simran Singh (26). All business establishments in Maur Mandi remained shut today.

Arora spent three hours in the town. “The Maruti in which the explosives were kept bore a fake number plate of a 1996 model scooter registered in Zira,” he said, claiming the police would crack the case in a day or two. He said they suspected the role of the Babbar Khalsa.