New Delhi: Three theories are being probed in the “high-grade” blast reported from the district and sessions court complex in Ludhiana, Punjab, Thursday afternoon, ThePrint has learnt.
One person was killed and five others were injured in the blast that comes weeks before the Punjab assembly elections.
The first theory is that a suicide bomber was trying to “wear” the bomb when it exploded, sources in the security establishment told ThePrint. The second, they said, is that the person who died in the blast had planted the bomb and was trying to trigger it when it exploded. And third, that someone went inside the toilet (where the explosion took place), saw the bomb, and tried to fiddle with it, causing it to explode.
The Punjab police, along with senior officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), are probing the three angles.
Police suspect that the explosive used in the bomb was RDX.
According to initial information, the middle section of the body of the person who died in the blast was completely blown away, security sources said.
“The middle part was completely blown away, which is why we suspect that it could be a suicide attack. Either the person (who died) was trying to wear the bomb, or it could also be someone who may have seen the bomb and unintentionally fiddled with it, which triggered it and it exploded,” one of the sources said.
According to the police, the explosion took place around 12.30 pm on the second floor of the six-storey court complex, injuring people in the vicinity. Two walls of the washroom collapsed and a window (in the washroom) was shattered because of the blast. Among the injured were two women — one a court staffer and another who works at a photostat shop in the complex. All the injured are out of danger, police said.
Two teams from the NIA — one from Chandigarh and the other from the headquarters in Delhi — are investigating the blast. An SP rank officer from the NIA and the head of the agency’s explosives division are also at the spot, ThePrint has learnt.
Also read: Home Ministry seeks report from Punjab government on Ludhiana district court blast
Suspected use of RDX
While the explosive used appears to be RDX, a team of experts is expected to reach the spot soon for further investigations, the sources said.
“Looking at the intensity of the blast, it appears to be RDX. The chief of the explosives unit of NIA is at the spot and the work to identify the explosive is on,” the source quoted above said, adding, “No terror outfit has claimed responsibility for the blast yet. It is too early to say who could be involved.”
The police are yet to identify the person who was killed.
“We are trying to ascertain the person’s identity. There is a lot of debris that needs to be removed. We are hoping to get some ID card from it which would help us identify the body. No family members have so far come forward looking for anyone,” the source said.
The Ludhiana police is in the process of registering a case in the matter. CCTV footage from the court complex, including that from the entry and exit gates, is being scanned.
“There was a strike in the court today, which is why there were not many people and the casualties were fewer,” a police officer said.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: AAP sees conspiracy in Ludhiana court blast ahead of Punjab polls, questions Cong govt’s competence