The bomb that hit Punjab Police’s Intelligence Wing headquarters in Mohali was trinitrotoluene (TNT) fitted to a projectile. With this information, Punjab Police is probing the terror angle in the attack.
Punjab Director General of Police VK Bhawra said today that the explosives used appeared to be TNT. He said no one was present in the room that the bomb hit in the evening yesterday, shattering some windowpanes. “Investigation is underway. We have leads and very soon we will solve this case,” he said.
Was it a terror attack? The DGP said, “Whatever will come out in the investigations, we will let you know.”
After holding a high-level meeting of senior police officers today, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said a few inimical forces were constantly trying to foment trouble across the state. “They would never succeed in their nefarious designs,” he said.
An official statement said the DGP apprised the chief minister of the developments. The police have taken a few suspects into custody for further interrogation.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has come under severe criticism from opposition parties, as the law-and-order situation is constantly worsening in Punjab since Arvind Kejriwal’s party came to power in the state, with Khalistanis turning belligerent too. The bombing in Mohali is a major intelligence failure, observers say. INC’s Partap Singh Bajwa, the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Punjab, said the deteriorating law and order situation in the state was alarming. “Patiala, Himachal Pradesh, Kahnuwan, and now a military-grade attack on Punjab Police’s Intelligence headquarters in Mohali. I urge Bhagwant Mann to review the security situation and call an all-party meeting to let us know the steps taken to maintain the peace and security in Punjab.”
Manish Tewari, the Lok Sabha MP from the INC, wrote on Twitter that he saw history repeating itself (edited): “This is how it all began in 1980. It soon went completely out of control. Within 40 months — 6 October 1983 — Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was compelled to dismiss a Congress Government led by Darbara Singh and the rest is history.”
Former minister and Punjab president of the BJP Manoranjan Kalia said, “If the police headquarters are not safe, there is a big question mark over the safety of the common man in Punjab under the Aam Aadmi Party regime.” He alleged that Chief Minister Mann had been complacent about Punjab’s security. “The rocket attack is an alarm bell for the AAP government to be proactive, to stop those who want to disturb peace in Punjab,” he said.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said the Mohali blast had exposed serious security lapses and once again highlighted the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab.
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