Amritsar attack: Conspiracy hatched in Lahore; ISI colluded with pro-Khalistan group

The Punjab Police has arrested one person in connection with Sunday's grenade attack on the Nirankari Satsang Bhawan that left three persons dead. The arrested person has been identified as Bikramjit Singh.

Three persons were killed and over 20 injured in a grenade attack on a religious congregation inside the Nirankari Bhavan at Adliwal village near Amritsar's Rajasansi. PTI Photo

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police has arrested one person in connection with Sunday's grenade attack on the Nirankari Satsang Bhawan that left three persons dead. The arrested person has been identified as Bikramjit Singh. The second person involved in the attack, identified as Avtar Singh, is still absconding. Initial probe revealed that the conspiracy was hatched in Lahore, with Pakistan's Inter-State Intelligence (ISI) colluding with Khalistan Liberation Force, a pro-Khalistan extremist group, in the "terrorist act". Addressing a press conference here, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that the grenade used in the blast was Pakistan made. "One Bikramjit Singh has been arrested and search for another accused, Avtar Singh, is on," Amarinder told the media. According to him, the motorcycle used in the crime has also been recovered. Amarinder said it was a "terror incident" and there was no religious link to it. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence is quite active in fomenting trouble in Punjab and the grenade attack in Amritsar was a pure act of terrorism, Singh said. "There is no communal angle in the attack. It's pure case of terrorism. They were targeted as they were easy targets. We had information in the past about other organisations being targeted but we took precautionary measures and prevented that," the chief minister said. Showing a picture of an explosive, Singh said: "This is the type of grenade which has been taken from other modules. This is the one being used against forces in Kashmir and this is the one that burst. This one is made under license by Pakistan ordinance factory and is filled with pellets." Three people including a preacher were killed and over 20 injured when two-motorcycle borne men threw a grenade on a religious congregation on the outskirts of Amritsar on Sunday, an incident which police are treating as a "terrorist act". The incident had taken place inside the Nirankari Bhawan's prayer hall at Adliwal village near Amritsar's Rajasansi. (With inputs from agencies)