Five people were arrested after an explosion was heard near the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the wee hours of Thursday, sources said. This was the third explosion to rock the area in a week.
According to the details, the blast took place around 12.30 am.
The five arrested accused had allegedly planned the explosion, Punjab Police sources told ANI.
The accused were apprehended on the basis of the CCTV footage and mobile locations. The IEDs were assembled at a washroom nearby.
The motive behind the blast was to disturb peace in the area, they added.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) will probe the blasts.
A video shared by ANI showed chaos and cops near the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Sources said potassium chlorate was used in the cracker which caused Thursday’s blast.
Talking to reporters, the Punjab Police earlier said some pieces were found behind the building.
“A loud sound was heard around 12.15–12.30 am. There’s a possibility that it could be another explosion. It’s being verified and is yet to be confirmed. We have found some pieces behind the building. But since it is dark, we are trying to find out,” Commissioner of Police Naunihal Singh told reporters.
“The suspects are being rounded up and the probe is on,” he added.
Sources also said two men and a woman were staying at a nearby room at the time of the blast. All three were being questioned.
BLASTS NEAR GOLDEN TEMPLE
Earlier, two blasts had rocked a heritage street near the Golden Temple, on May 6 and May 8, respectively, thus causing panic among the locals.
Following the second blast, DGP Gaurav Yadav told PTI that the Punjab Police was taking the help of all agencies to probe the two blasts, that rocked the place in 30 hours.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team also visited and inspected the site of the second blast.
In the first blast, one person was injured and the glass facades of some buildings in the area were damaged.
The second low-intensity blast on the same street on the morning of May 8 injured one more person.
Punjab Police could not immediately find any trigger device or detonator from the area that may have been used.
