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Two men on a motorcycle broke into a prayer hall near Amritsar and threw a grenade Sunday at a religious rally, killing three people, including a preacher, and wounding at least 20 people during an attack. suspected terrorist, the Punjab police said.
At around 11:30 am, masked men targeted a rally of the Nirankari sect in the Rajasansi area, about 15 km from the center of Amritsar and near an international airport. At least 200 people were in the prayer room for a weekly religious meeting.
"We consider this a terrorist act. This incident concerns a group and not an individual, "said Punjab Police Director General Suresh Arora, who rushed to the scene with senior officials.
Punjab is on alert after reports that a group of six to seven terrorists from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed group will camp in the state. Last week, four people seized an SUV from its driver under the threat of a gun near Madhopur, in Pathankot district.
In 2016, a group of terrorists stole a car belonging to a Punjab police official before launching a deadly attack that killed seven soldiers at the state's air base, Pathankot.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh condemned the attack and announced compensation of 500,000 rupees to the families of the victims. "I call on the inhabitants of Punjab to keep the peace after the bombing of Amritsar … We will not let the forces of terror destroy our hard-won peace," he said. he said on Twitter.
Singh also said that the possibility of the participation of "Khalistanis" (Sikh separatists) or Kashmiri groups backed by the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spying agency could not be ruled out.
A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) rushed to the site as part of its standard operating procedures, under which it monitors all cases related to terrorism, officials at the Ministry of the Interior said. . Punjab should send a report to the ministry, which will then decide whether the case should be forwarded to the NIA.
The Minister of the Interior of the Union, Rajnath Singh, met with the chief minister and assured "energetic action" against those responsible for the attack.
The attack on the gathering of the Nirankari sect, whose members are considered heretics by some Sikh traditionalists, sounded the alarm across the border in anticipation of Guru Nanak's birthday celebrations, the first Sikh guru.
The Nirankari sect, headquartered in Delhi, has millions of followers in the country and abroad. Delhi police said a high alert after the grenade attack and security around a nirankari facility in Burari, north of Delhi, was strengthened. "As a national capital, Delhi remains on alert all year round. However, we have stepped up our security apparatus to prevent unfortunate incidents in the city …, "said Delhi Police spokesman Madhur Verma.
Initial investigations into Sunday's attack revealed that two men – their faces covered – broke into the building brandishing a gun, said CM Singh. One of them mastered the guard at the door and threw the grenade into the prayer room. Then they ran off on their motorcycle.
Sukhdev Kumar, 58, preacher of the Rajasansi unit of the sect; Kuldeep Singh, 40, and Sandeep Singh, 17, died in the blast. All were inhabitants of the neighboring villages. The wounded are being treated in two hospitals in Amritsar.
"People had gathered for prayer. There were about 200 people. Preliminary reports suggest that the two people threw a grenade … No shooting took place, "said SPS Parmar, Inspector General of the Punjab (Border) Police, adding that no CCTV camera was installed in the prayer room.
First published: Nov. 18, 2018 23:35 IST
