Involvement of ISI not ruled out: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said the possibility of involvement of ISI-based Khalistani/Kashmiri terror groups in grenade attack in Amritsar could not be ruled out.

Capt said the grenade attack has strengthened the belief that Pakistan was continuing with its nefarious activities to disturb the peace in Punjab. Sunday’s attack also exposes the chinks in the security apparatus. Capt said forensic teams were examining all angles to unearth the conspiracy. The attack on a religious sect is been seen as an attempt to disrupt the communal fabric in this border state. Police teams raided likely hideouts of the assailants to nab the suspects.

He appealed to the people not to panic and maintain peace law and order. “The government would ensure there is no chaos in the wake of the incident, he said. The home secretary, DG Police, DG Law and Order and DG Intelligence rushed to village Adliwal in Rajasansi to supervise the investigations into the suspected hand grenade attack.

The CM, who reviewed the law and order situation following the blast, has also directed the police to immediately enhance security arrangements at all sensitive places. “Nobody will be allowed to get away with trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the state,” he warned.

The government announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the dead and directed the district administration to provide the best possible medical care, free of cost, to the injured.

The state had been hit by a series of cases of targeted attacks since 2015-16. This was the first attempt in a long time to disturb the peace in the state through indiscriminate killings, said the Chief Minister. He pointed out that 15 such terror modules had been busted in the past 18 months, with Kashmiri terror links also indicated in some instances, as evidenced in the arrest of Kashmiri students from Jalandhar and in the Maqsudan police station grenade blast case.