In a reminder to dark days of militancy in Punjab, three people were killed while over a dozen were injured in a grenade attack during a religious congregation at Rana Sansi in Amritsar district at a time when the State was on high alert after terror inputs since Thursday.

The Punjab Police has described it as a “terrorist act” and is probing all “possible angles”. By the evening, the police have arrested two suspects from Bathinda, and seized live cartridges from them.

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided to investigate the incident that took place at Nirankari Bhawan in Adliwal village. The NIA has registered a case into the incident and its team, comprising senior officers, left from Chandigarh in the evening, and was expected to reach Raja Sansi late at night to further investigate the matter.

The blast came at a time when the police have sounded high alert across Punjab, especially in Amritsar after the terrorist-outfit Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (AGH) chief Zakir Musa was reportedly spotted in the holy city along with a few other men on Friday.

Security was beefed up across the State since Thursday after four persons snatched an SUV at gunpoint near Madhopur in Pathankot district last week, followed by an intelligence input claiming that a group of six to seven Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were reportedly in the State, possibly in Ferozepur area.

Sunday’s blast attack at Nirankaris — considered to be a subsidiary of Sikhism but following their own living Guru and religious text - harked back about four decades back. In 1978, 13 Sikhs and three Nirankaris were killed in Amritsar following a violent clash between the two groups — an incident considered to be the starting of the Sikh militancy in Punjab.

As per initial inputs, two youth, aged between 25 and 30, with their faces covered, forcibly entered the Nirankari Bhawan and lobbed the grenade amidst the crowd when the congregation was on.

“Out of 250 people who were present in the religious congregation, three died, and 15-20 were injured,” said the State IG (Border) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar. All victims were sect followers from nearby villages who had gathered for the Sunday weekly religious meeting. SP Harpal Singh said that earlier, religious congregation used to be held at a house in Lopoke village which were stopped by Satkar committee - a radical Sikh organisation.

The State’s all top police officials, including the State police chief Suresh Arora along with DGP Law and Order and Intelligence, rushed to the site immediately and camped there until the area is properly scanned. Dog squads have also been deployed to collect the evidence.

The Police have also launched a massive search operation to nab the suspects, with Special Weapons and Tactics team also deployed. The police had also sealed Punjab’s border with Rajasthan.

Stating that the attack appears to be a “terrorist act”, the State DGP Suresh Arora said: “It appears to have a terror angle. Because it is against a group (of people) and it is not against any individual.

There is no reason to throw a hand grenade on a group of people, so we will take it as a terrorist act. Till proven otherwise, prima facie we will take it as that.”

 “There was no issue with this group as such…There was no specific input on Nirankari Bhavan,” he said, while adding that the security across the State has been beefed up, especially around all Nirankari buildings.

Arora told The Pioneer that it was too early to say if it is a joint action by Kashmiri and Sikh militants. He also maintained that it was too early to compare it with the 1978 situation when the Nirankaris were targeted.

Condemning the incident and appealing the people to maintain peace, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of deceased. He also directed the civic hospital to provide free treatment to those injured in the attack.

Soon after the attack, Capt Amarinder chaired a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in the State.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to Capt Amarinder assuring “strong action” against those responsible for the grenade attack. Calling the Sunday attack a “reprehensible act of violence”, the Union Minister expressed deep anguish over the death of innocents.