‘Blast’ at Amritsar police station sparks panic, 4th case in month

Panic gripped the area in the wee hours of today after a “blast” at the Islamabad police station here. According to local residents, the explosion was heard at the police station at 3.15 am, shattering windowpanes of nearby structures.

The police claimed that no blast occurred on the police station premises. Senior police officials said a heavy object fell on a temporary sentry post outside the police station. Only the iron sheet atop the sentry post was damaged, the officials said.

Amritsar Commissioner of Police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar visited the police station and denied the claims of a blast. He said a policeman posted on sentry duty heard a sound around 3.15 am. “He immediately went out but found nothing,” said Bhullar.

Germany-based Gangster claims role

• The police said no blast occurred on the police station premises
• They said a heavy object fell on a temporary sentry post outside the police station
• A Germany-based gangster, Jeevan Fauji, has claimed responsibility for the ‘blast’

Later, chairing a high-level meeting, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav emphasised the need for officers to use both technical and human intelligence to detect and apprehend those responsible for attacks.

He asked the officers to identify common trends and patterns in such heinous crimes and conduct investigations in a scientific manner, utilising all technical and forensic tools for the detection of crime to ensure convictions of the accused. “All previous cases of attack on police establishments, including the IED planted near the Ajnala police station and a hand grenade attack on the Asron police post in Nawanshahr, have been solved successfully and the accused arrested,” Yadav said. The meeting was attended by CP Bhullar, Border Range DIG Satinder Singh and Amritsar (Rural) SSP Charanjit Singh.

Meanwhile, a Germany-based gangster, Jeevan Fauji, has claimed responsibility for the “blast”. Bhullar claimed that 10 persons associated with Fauji had been arrested for unlawful activity, which was a major setback for them. “We arrested two more Jandiala residents for a similar crime. Due to desperation, they wanted to show their presence. Aman Khokhar and a few more are on our target and we will arrest them soon,” he said.

This is the fourth such blast at a police establishment in Amritsar district in the recent past. On November 24, an IED was found outside the Ajnala police station. On November 28, a blast was reported at the Gurbaxnagar police chowki in Amritsar. On December 4, a blast was reported at the Majitha police station in Amritsar. As the Islamabad police station is located in a densely populated area near the Army Cantonment, a team of the Army and the State Special Operation Cell also visited the spot.