'Blast' at Islamabad police station in Amritsar leads to panic

Panic gripped Islamabad area here during the wee hours on Tuesday after a 'blast' at Islamabad police station.

According to locals, the explosion was heard at the police station at around 3 am.

However, police claimed that no blast occurred on the police station premises. They said a heavy object fell on the temporary police sentry post outside the police station.

Only the iron sheet on the top of the sentry post was damaged, officials said.

Pawan Kumar (55), who lives near the police station, said, “A loud sound was heard around 3.15 am which created panic in the area. Residents rushed outside to see what happened.”

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar denied claims of a blast and said all senior police officers visited the spot.

He said a policeman posted on sentry duty heard the sound around 3:15 am. "He immediately went out but found nothing. He definitely heard the sound. All police officers immediately reached the spot," said Bhullar.

The police commissioner said some people claimed on social media that an "attack" took place at the police station but there was no such thing.

On December 4, a 'blast' was reported inside Majitha police station in Amritsar. Recently, an IED was also found outside Ajnala police station and a blast occurred inside Gurbax Nagar police post in Amritsar police commissionerate. — with PTI