NEW DELHI, May 11: Five people were arrested and a woman detained for questioning by the Punjab Police on Thursday after a low-intensity explosion took place near the Golden Temple, the third in a week.
The police said the arrested were also involved in two similar earlier blasts. The police did not elaborate on the motive but said they will investigate the “entire deep-rooted conspiracy” and examine possible connections of those arrested, in India and abroad.
The latest blast occurred around 1 A.M. on Wednesday-Thursday night in Galiara, the pathway and park around the Golden Temple, behind the Guru Ramdas Ji Niwas (inn) building, they said. Director-General of Police Gaurav Yadav told reporters that the police would look into whether the explosions were the work of a self-radicalised module or it acted on the directions of someone else.
He said a Special Investigations Team will be formed to probe into the matter. “We will investigate the entire deep-rooted conspiracy behind this. We will examine all the associates of the arrested people, in India and abroad, and get to the bottom of it,” he said.
The explosive was assembled in the washroom of Guru Ramdas Sarai, an accommodation in Amritsar near the Golden Temple. The material to make the explosive is generally used in firecrackers, the senior cop said.
The accused were tracked down with the help of surveillance footage and have been identified as; Azadvir Singh, Amrik Singh, Sahib Singh, Harjit Singh and Dharminder Singh. Azadvir and Amrik were the main perpetrators while Sahib, Harjit and Dharminder sourced and supplied the explosives, he said. Amrik’s wife is also being questioned and her role examined, the senior cop added.
On May 6, a low-intensity explosion occurred on a heritage street near the Golden Temple. The second one took place in the area less than 30 hours after the first blast. The police also recovered 1.10 kg low-intensity explosives, which is normally used to make firecrackers, Yadav said.
Sharing more details, Yadav said the first improvised explosive device (IED) was assembled in the bathroom of the inn on May 6 and it constituted 200 grams of explosives, which are normally used to make firecrackers, in two energy drink cans. A metallic tiffin box was also filled with the same explosive material.
“All three containers were placed in a polythene bag. Azadvir had gone to the rooftop of the heritage parking building and then hung the polythene bag with the help of a rope at 11 pm on May 6. The first explosion took place at 11.25 pm,” Yadav said.
The second IED was assembled by using two metallic bowls that were then joined together in the bathroom of the inn on May 7. It was placed on the top of the heritage parking building at 4.30 am on May 8 and exploded at 6.15 am, he said. The third explosion took place in a secluded area behind the inn building.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Punjab Police collected forensic samples from the site of the blast. Preliminary reports suggest that no triggering mechanism was used in the explosion, sources said.
The explosive used in the two blasts on Heritage Street in Amritsar were packed with two health drink cans.
One person was injured in the explosion that took place on Monday. No detonator was found, and the police said it appeared that the explosive used in the blast was kept in a container. The police said the explosive was crudely made, and no shrapnel was used.
One person was injured, and the glass facades of some buildings were damaged in the blast on May 6. Yadav also thanked the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for their cooperation in nabbing the accused.
(Manas Dasgupta)
