Suspected grenade attack triggers panic in posh Chandigarh locality

Chandigarh:  A suspected grenade attack on the house of a former Punjab Police officer in a posh locality in Chandigarh by miscreants who came in an auto-rickshaw triggered panic in the area on Wednesday.

Dalbir Singh, PRO, Chandigarh Police, said, “An explosion took place here. We are investigating it. The CFSL team is present on the spot. The incident took place at around 6 p.m.”

The explosion shattered the window panes of the house located in the upscale Sector 10 area of the city, though no one was injured in the incident.

According to the police, three suspects were involved in the attack. While one of them hurled the explosive, two others were sitting in the auto-rickshaw which was captured on CCTV while fleeing the spot.

Teams from the fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reached the crime spot.

It is learnt that a retired Punjab Police officer lives in the house and the cops suspect him to be the target.

“There was a loud sound. Some pressure types low-intensity blast took place because of which some windows and pots were damaged,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kanwardeep Kaur, told the media.

“The complainants were sitting on the verandah of the house. They saw the suspects,” the officer said, adding that efforts are on to track the auto-rickshaw.

“We are currently investigating all angles, including the type of explosive, the reason for its placement, and its nature,” she added.

Teams of the bomb detection squad and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CISF) are collecting samples from the crime spot.

According to reports, the blast left a hole approximately 5-8 inches deep.