Mohali attack: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann says arrests made, promises strictest punishment

A day after a rocketpropelled grenade attack on the Mohalibased intelligence wing headquarters of the Punjab police Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said some arrests have been made and the strictest punishment will be meted out to those trying to spoil the states atmospherePunjab Director General of Police DGP V K Bhawra said they have got a few leads and the case will be solved soonAt a meeting with the chief minister the DGP informed the former that some suspects have been taken into custody for interrogationA rocketpropelled grenade was fired at the third floor of the highlyguarded building in Mohalis Sector 77 at 745 pm on Monday following which an alert was sounded in PunjabThe chief minister held a meeting with the DGP and top officials of the intelligence wing on Tuesday and directed the state police chief to probe the matter thoroughlyMann said nobody would be allowed to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in Punjab adding that a few inimical forces are constantly trying to foment trouble across the state but they will never succeed in their nefarious designsAfter his meeting with the DGP the chief minister said Some arrests have been made and more will be made Whoever tries to spoil the atmosphere of Punjab will not be spared and the strictest punishment will be given to them which their coming generations will rememberLater after a meeting with senior officials at the intelligence wing headquarters Bhawra told reporters in Mohali that a projectile had hit the building and the explosive used in it seems to be TNT trinitrotolueneThere was nobody in the room when the incident occurred The impact was on the wall the DGP saidBut it is a challenge and we are making allout efforts to solve the case he addedTo a question on whether it was a terror attack or there was any Khalistani angle in it Bhawra said whatever comes out of the investigation we will let you knowWe have leads and we will soon solve this case he saidA preliminary investigations pointed towards the involvement of two men who came in a car and used an RPG for firing at the buildingThe incident is being seen as a major intelligence failure as the building houses the state counterintelligence wing the special task force the antigangster task force and some other unitsPolice are also suspecting the involvement of gangsterturnedterrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda who is believed to be in Pakistan in the incidentRinda has been taking the help of local gangsters to carry out antinational activities here police sources saidHis name figured when a terror plot was foiled recently with the arrest of four suspected Pakistanlinked terrorists in Haryanas Karnal Rindas involvement was also detected in a handgrenade attack at the Crime Investigation Agency CIA office in Nawanshahr last monthThe Punjab police have registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC the Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment Act and the Explosives Act at Sohana police station in MohaliThe incident took place days after the arrest of four suspected Pakistan linked terrorists in Haryanas Karnal and the arrest of two people with recovery of an Improvised Explosive Device IED packed with 150 kg RDX from Tarn Taran district in PunjabThe explosion also came close on the heels of the recovery of an explosive device near the Burail Jail in Chandigarh on April 24Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said the explosion was a cowardly act and his partys government in the state will ensure that the culprits get the strictest punishment while the opposition parties desribed the incident as disturbing and shockingCongress MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said the attack was worrying and posed a threat to the hardearned peace in the stateRPG attack on Punjab Police intelligence wing office in Mohali is worrying This after RDX was found few days back in Tarn Taran Punjab has been through dark times already we cant afford to damage the hardearned peace of Punjab Bajwa said in a tweetPunjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma said the blast at the building of the intelligence headquarters is a matter of concern and expressed surprise over the local police describing it as a minor explosionThe Mohali police had on Monday said a minor explosion was reported at the headquartersThe chief minister needs to pay attention to the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab Sharma said in a tweetThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever