- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
ONE person was killed while five suffered serious injuries in a blast that took place inside a court complex in the city of Ludhiana in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Thursday (23) afternoon.
The chief minister of the poll-bound state, Charanjit Singh Channi, said the blast was carried out to disrupt the law and order in the city ahead of the crucial elections early next year.
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“Very soon the truth will be revealed. Somebody trying to get himself saved is doing this. This will also be investigated. We will not let anyone disturb the law and order and peace of the state. It seems that someone who was fitting the bomb got killed,” Channi, who took over as the chief minister in September, said.
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Sources told News18 that the blast seemed to be a “powerful” one as the walls of the washroom where it happened got demolished and the window panes were smashed. It was also suspected that an IED (improvised explosive device) was being assembled there. The district court was crowded when the incident happened.
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Police cordoned off the area while fire tenders reached the spot.
Ludhiana police commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the matter was being investigated. Indian home minister Amit Shah was briefed about the matter.
“We are verifying, injured have been sent to the hospital. The bomb disposal squad is arriving. The area will be sealed until the investigation is done,” he said, adding that the forensic teams will collect samples from the blast site.
Following the blast, visuals showed injured people being carried out of the building and police personnel trying to evacuate people from the court complex. Two of the injured were women while the other were men.
Bhullar said the body of the deceased has been recovered. He said the person was either carrying the explosive or was very near to it. He said the local police were awaiting the arrival of a National Security Guard team from New Delhi. He also said four of the injured were out of danger. A team of the National Investigation Agency was also sent to the blast site.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh tweeted to ask the state police to investigate the incident thoroughly.
As the chief minister earlier this year, Singh had expressed concerns over the threat to the state from Pakistan-backed terror forces and had sought 25 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and anti-drone gadgets for the Border Security Force (BSF) for protection.
“First sacrilege, now blast. Some people want to destroy the peace in Punjab but we will not allow such plans to succeed. We should stand together,” Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi and the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party which is also aiming high in the upcoming polls, said.
In 2017, six people, including three children, were killed in an explosion near the venue of the poll campaign of a candidate from the state’s ruling Indian National Congress.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also condemned the incident.
