Explosion at Chandigarh’s Sector 10 house: grenade attack suspected

On Wednesday evening, panic erupted in Chandigarh’s upscale Sector 10 when an explosive, suspected to be a hand grenade, was thrown at a house. The attack happened at House No. 575, owned by KK Malhotra, a 100-year-old retired principal from Himachal Pradesh. Malhotra and his wife narrowly avoided the blast as they had just moved inside from the verandah moments before the explosion.

The blast caused damage to glass windows and flower pots on the verandah. Police, bomb detection, and forensic teams quickly arrived at the scene to investigate. A 30-second CCTV footage showed a man in a white T-shirt running away from the house just before the explosion. He then got into an auto-rickshaw, which sped away and almost collided with another car. The rickshaw, registered in Punjab, was later impounded, and the driver, Kuldeep, was arrested for questioning.

Possible target and investigation

Senior Superintendent of Police Kanwardeep Kaur reported that the blast caused significant noise and damage to flowerpots and windows. She confirmed that one suspect had been detained, and further investigation was ongoing. Sources suggest that the intended target might have been retired Punjab Superintendent of Police Jaskirat Singh Chahal, who previously lived in the house. Chahal was active during the militancy years in Punjab. 

ALSO READ: Chandigarh: PEC and Architects criticize Metro Project in new studies

ALSO READ: Thieves leave behind ID Card after attempting to loot Finance Firm in Mohali

In October last year, Punjab Police arrested four members of a terror group linked to Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda, who were reportedly tasked with targeting Chahal. Chandigarh Police have announced a ₹2 lakh reward for information leading to the arrest of additional suspects involved in the attack.