City on alert after Asr grenade attack

JALANDHAR: The grenade attack in Amritsar that claimed three lives has kept the local police on their toes. While there were rumours that there is a possibility of Maqsudan blast mastermind Zakir Musa, the chief of Jammu and Kashmir-based Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind terror outfit, being present in Amritsar or in its vicinity, the police have increased surveillance.

Cops check luggage of passengers at the railway station in Jalandhar on Sunday. Sarabjit Singh

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 18

The grenade attack in Amritsar that claimed three lives has kept the local police on their toes.

While there were rumours that there is a possibility of Maqsudan blast mastermind Zakir Musa, the chief of Jammu and Kashmir-based Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind terror outfit, being present in Amritsar or in its vicinity, the police have increased surveillance. Additional cops have been deployed at all key public places as well as entry and exit points of the city.

Additional 250 on-reserve police personnel have been deployed to keep a vigil at the bus stand, railway station and markets.

While the social media on Sunday remained abuzz with rumours that the grenade attack in Amritsar had a Kashmir connection, the police have so far been quick to debunk such theories stating investigations were on and there was no evidence about it.

Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said, “So far, the investigation into the Amritsar grenade attack is totally within the purview of the Amritsar police. So far, we have no evidence or information to suggest the incident had to do anything with the Maqsudan blasts. It is too early to conclude anything. The matter is being investigated and if there is anything, the police of the areas concerned will share the information with us.”

Talking about the security measures in the city, Bhullar said, “We are on high alert after the Amritsar attack. We are keeping a check on crowded places. We are also going to enhance checking and rounding up of suspects. A total of 250 extra reserve police personnel have been deployed at the entry-exit points of the city and crowded places.”

Incident poses threat to peace, says Chugh

Phagwara: BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh on Sunday said the grenade attack in Amritsar had posed a fresh challenge to the law and order, besides posing a threat to peace and harmony.

Condoling the death of three innocent persons, Chugh said, “The Union Government had provided inputs to the state government that eight to 10 terrorists have entered the country, but the state government took the information lightly. It didn’t do the needful, resulting in today’s incident.”— OC