Chandigarh, May 5: A scooter parked near BSF Chowk in Punjab’s Jalandhar district caught fire on Tuesday evening causing panic in the area, police said, even as locals claimed they heard a blast-like sound from the vehicle.
The incident took place at around 8 pm outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force’s Punjab Frontier, which is located along a road that connects the main city with the Amritsar-Delhi highway.
Nobody was hurt, said police who have cordoned off the area.
It is yet to be ascertained how the scooter caught fire, they said, even as opposition parties launched an attack on the AAP government over an “explosion” in Jalandhar.
“Prima facie, the facts are that an Activa (scooter) parked here (Jalandhar) caught fire. We are still verifying the facts on the ground,” Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur said.
A police patrol team was present in the area at the time.
Replying to a question, Kaur said it is too early to say that a blast has taken place, adding that they are carrying out an investigation.
Meanwhile, a 22-year-old man named Gurpreet Singh has been identified as the one who was riding the scooter.
Talking to reporters, one of his relatives said Gurpreet comes to the area daily to deliver parcels. On Tuesday evening, when he was approaching his parked scooter, it suddenly caught fire. Gurpreet then rang up his father and informed him about the incident, the relative said.
Commissioner Kaur, along with other senior police officials, reached the spot and took stock of the situation.
A forensic team, a dog squad and a bomb squad have also arrived at the spot.
Kaur said the youth is fully cooperating with the investigation. According to Gurpreet, his vehicle suddenly caught fire, she said.
When asked if a blast had taken place as part of any conspiracy, she said it is too early to comment.
“We cannot confirm anything at the moment. We are investigating from all angles. If new details emerge, we will share them,” she said.
However, a local said he heard a blast-like sound.
“I was standing near a barrier when I heard a loud sound,” he said.
The opposition parties have targeted the ruling AAP government over the incident.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring claimed that an “explosion” near the BSF headquarters in Jalandhar is deeply alarming.
In an X post, he said, “A blast in a delivery scooter in a crowded area exposes a serious collapse of law and order. Punjab is a sensitive border state; such incidents raise grave national security concerns. Yet, while the AAP-led Punjab government is busy parading its MLAs before the President, the BJP-led Centre is equally distracted and failing in its responsibility to ensure security. People deserve safety, not political theatre.”
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia asked if law and order in a border state has collapsed.
“From the Shambhu railway track to the busy BSF Chowk in Jalandhar, continuous blasts within a week — has Punjab’s security completely failed?” he asked. (Agencies)
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