Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 23: A blast took place outside the house of former Sarpanch at village Rasath in Ghagwal area of Samba district in the wee hours of this morning damaging the house and shattering window panes of adjacent houses but there were no casualties.
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The blast took place at around 1.07 AM with a deafening sound heard at far off places near gate of former Sarpanch Jai Ram Sharma at village Rasath, which is located about 10 kilometers from the International Border (IB) with Pakistan, the sources said.
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The Sarpanch immediately woke up and rushed out of his room to find some kind of light fading away and then saw the gate and boundary wall of his house damaged and window panes shattered. Window panes in adjacent houses were also damaged with impact of the blast.
The Sarpanch immediately sounded police which reached the spot and sealed area for the examination.
Sources said entire material at the blast site has been sent for forensic examination to ascertain nature of the device used in the explosion.
As teams of the National Investigation Agency and the National Security Guard, accompanied by sniffer dogs, also visited the blast site, the possibility of terror angle hasn’t been ruled out.
“We have never heard such a loud explosion before. It shook the entire village and shattered the window panes of our house and nearby homes,” Jai Ram Sharma, the Sarpanch, said, requesting a thorough probe to identify those responsible for the act.
He said the police collected the shrapnel and other pieces, possibly from a bomb or some explosive.
“The area is also close to the border, so people are scared,” the former Sarpanch, whose son is serving in the army, said.
An FIR was filed in connection with the incident.
IGP Jammu Bhim Sen Tuti, DIG Jammu Range Shiv Kumar Sharma and SSP Samba Virinder Manhas reached the spot to supervise investigations.
Patrolling in the area has been intensified while search operations in some vulnerable areas are also being conducted.
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