Man dies in Asr blast while ‘trying to retrieve explosive'

Time of India

27-05-2025

Amritsar/Chandigarh: A man was killed in a powerful explosion near Decent Avenue in Amritsar on between 9.30 am to 10.00 am on Tuesday, with police believing that the blast occurred when he tried to retrieve the explosive.
Police suspect that the man, identified later in the day by a senior police officer as Nitin, in his twenties, son of an auto driver and hailing from Chheharta, was a "drug addict" and likely a "foot soldier" who had come to "retrieve the explosive on the directions of his handlers in a cut out module modus operandi where location of the explosive is shared with the foot soldier".
While deputy inspector general (DIG) Border Range Satinder Singh described it as a "prima facie case of terrorism", another senior Punjab police officer privy with the investigations said "nothing conclusive could be said about his handlers as of now since he died" and "did not even have a mobile phone since his family is very poor".
The officer said, "Even his father, who is an auto-rickshaw driver, has a basic phone.
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The officer said, "Though he did not have any phone, but he must have used someone's phone for sure for getting in touch with handlers. In the absence of the phone he used to get in touch with his handlers, it may be painstaking investigation to ascertain that at the behest of which organisation he had come to retrieve the explosive."
The officer added, "He could have been tasked by any Pakistan intelligence officer.
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It could be Harwinder Rinda group or the one which carried out grenade attack on [BJP] leader Manoranjan Kalia's house. We are working on it."
Punjab police suspect that the explosive that caused the blast could have been "improvised explosive device or a pressure bomb", but would wait for the forensic report to say anything conclusive on that.
"It may be an IED which might have gone off due to its trigger mechanism getting on while retrieving it.
It is unlikely to be grenade as there has been no recovery of pin or safety lever from the spot," said the officer.
The DIG said the police had uncovered a recurring modus operandi in such cases, where terror organisations hide explosives like grenades or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at abandoned places. "An operative is sent a picture of the location to retrieve the device and carry out planned attacks. In this case, a pole indicated where the explosive was hidden."
The DIG said, "The circumstantial evidence suggests the deceased was tasked with retrieving the explosive, which accidentally detonated while he was handling it."
Hinting that "items recovered from his pockets strongly link him to terrorist organisations," the DIG said a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was analysing the explosive to determine whether it was an IED or a grenade.
Confirming that "the man injured in the blast succumbed to injuries," the DIG said ongoing investigations point to the involvement of terror groups such as Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
Police suspect the man was attempting to retrieve an explosive device when it detonated between 9.30am and 10am near Decent Avenue.
Unconfirmed reports have fuelled speculation that the man intended to target policemen, but the DIG declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of the investigation. "We have recovered several clues from his personal belongings, but I cannot reveal them at this stage," he said.