Grenade samples sent for forensic analysis

The police are yet to get any clues about the perpetrators behind the hand grenade attack at the house of liquor trader Amandeep Jaintipuria at Jaintipur village here on Wednesday evening even as gangster-turned-terrorist Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia, has taken responsibility for it.

SSP (Amritsar rural) Charanjit Singh Sohal said samples of explosive used had been sent to a forensic lab to identify the material used in the attack. “We have zeroed in on several suspects while further investigations are on,” he added.

Three people had hurled an inflammable material on Jaintipuria’s house on Wednesday evening.

“It was a low-intensity blast that damaged only plants in the lawn,” said the SSP, adding that a manhunt had been launched to identify and arrest the suspects.

The police teams have been scanning CCTV footage in the area to find the clues about the perpetrators.

Hours after the attack, Happy Passia took the responsibility for it on the social media handle of Babbar Khalsa International.

Amandeep Jaintipuria is son of ex-Zila Parishad chairman Rajinder Kumar, alias Pappu Jaintipuria. Pappu Jaintipuria remained associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal but later shifted to the Congress. He died on November 7 last year.

This was the sixth hand grenade attack in Amritsar and tenth in Punjab. However, this is for the first time that an individual was targeted by the ISI-backed gangster-turned-terrorist module.

Minutes after the incident, senior Akali leader Bikram Singh shared the CCTV footage of the incident while questioning the poor law and order situation in Punjab. He claimed that Jaintipuria’s family had been getting threats from foreign-based gangsters.

Taking to X, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said, “There has been an alarming rise in security threats in border districts! Where is Punjab's Home Minister Bhagwant Mann while Punjab is left to its fate,” he said.