High alert sounded in Punjab after blast in Ludhiana's Court; CM Charanjit Singh Channi rushes to blast site

A high alert has been sounded in Punjab following a high intensity blast in Ludhiana's court complex on Thursday afternoon.

The explosion took place in Ludhiana’s district court complex at about 12.30 pm on Thursday.

According to eyewitnesses two persons were killed while many were injured in the blast that occurred in a washroom located on the second floor of the old building of the court complex. The death toll may rise.

Ludhian police chief GS Dhillon claimed that one person was killed and some others were injured in the blast. The injured have been rushed to the local Civil Hospital and DMC, Luhuana, he said, adding that a team of forensic experts have been called from Chandigarh for investigations. The exact cause and motive of the blast are yet to be ascertained, he said.

A two-member team of NIA from Chandigarh has also rushed to Ludhiana to take stock of the situation.

The court was functioning when a blast occurred inside a washroom infront of Courtroom No 13 and 14 at about 12.30 pm. The walls of the washroom were blown off and cracks appeared on the walls of the building.

The intensity of the blast was so high that window panes of the court rooms and chambers of advocates including vehicles parked in the parking lot were smashed, eyewitnesses revealed. The bodies were buried under the rubbles at the site of blast.

After evicting the court complex, the police have cordoned off the premises and fire tenders have been pressed to the service. The entire court complex has been sealed and security has been beefed up in and around the court premises.

The Punjab police had already sounded an alert across the state.

The blast in the court premises has raised questions on the security measures taken by the district administration.

Meanwhile, after cutting short his meeting with farmers unions, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi rushed to the blast site to take stock of the situation. He termed it an unfortunate incident and claimed that some anti-social and anti-national elements have been trying to disturb peace and harmony in the state. “The anti-social elements, who made futile attempts of sacrilege in the state, now tried to disturb peace, ahead of state Assembly elections”, claimed Channi.