Blast in Amritsar as grenade hurled at house of Bikram Majithia’s confidant

There was a blast as three motorcycle-borne men hurled a grenade at the house of the former Zila Parishad chairman, late Rajinder Kumar, also called Pappu Jaintipuria, at Jaintipur village here on Wednesday night.

The family had gone to Batala to attend a function when the incident took place. No one was injured as the grenade fell in the compound of the house.

Gangster-turned-terrorist Happy Pashia has taken the responsibility for the blast.

Jaintipuria was a close confidant of SAD leader Bikram Majithia, who shared the incident on social media.

While questioning the law and order situation in Punjab, Majithia tagged CM Bhagwant Mann, DGP Gaurav Yadav and the Amritsar rural police.

He claimed that Amandeep Kumar, son of Jaintipuria, and the family had been getting threats from foreign-based gangsters.

The incident took place at around 7.50 pm. Senior police officials reached the spot and started an investigation. CCTV footage of the suspects lobbing the grenade has surfaced.

SSP Charanjit Singh Sohal said three miscreants hurled an inflammable material though it was not RDX as was being claimed.

"The forensic examination will reveal the nature of the explosive. It was a low-intensity blast that damaged only the plants in the lawn," the SSP said, adding that a manhunt had been launched to identify and arrest the suspects.

He confirmed that there were threats to the family and security had been provided.

This is the sixth such incident in Amritsar district in the past month and a half.