On Saturday, March 15, two unidentified men attacked the Thakur Dwara temple on Shershah Suri Road in Amritsar’s Khandwala area by throwing an explosive device. CCTV footage captured two masked individuals arriving near the temple on a bike, carrying a flag. After waiting briefly, one of them got off and hurled what appeared to be a grenade at the temple around 12:45 a.m. before fleeing the scene. No injuries were reported from the explosion, but it damaged a temple wall and shattered window panes. ACP (West) Shiv Darshan Singh stated that a forensic team was dispatched to the scene to collect samples from the site.

The temple priest reported the incident to the police. Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar stated that Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, deceives Punjab’s youth by enticing them into committing such crimes. He assured that the perpetrators would be arrested soon.

“We got information at 2 a.m. We reached the spot right away. The forensic team was called… We checked the CCTV and spoke to the nearby people. The thing is that Pakistan’s ISI lures our youth into creating disturbances in Punjab. We will trace this case within days and take appropriate action. I warn the youth not to ruin their lives… We will catch the culprits soon…,” expressed Bhullar.

Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu condemned the incident and shared the CCTV footage on X and penned, “I strongly condemn bomb attack on Thakur Dwara temple, Khandwala in Amritsar. AAP government fails to check repeated incidents of blasts in the border city. Deteriorating law and order in Punjab is a matter of serious concern.”

In commenting on the matter, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that Pakistan was responsible for such incidents in Punjab. “Efforts are made from time to time to disturb Punjab by some mischievous elements. Even drugs are part of it. The Moga incident was also cracked by the police. Punjab Police is proactive and has been provided with the latest equipment, so Punjab is fine as far as law and order is concerned,” stated Mann. “Pakistan is regularly pushing drones, so they keep doing such things. Why would they want Punjab to be at peace?” he further said.

Kirandeep Singh Monu, a local Shiromani Akali Dal leader and advocate, stated that the temple has existed for 25 years. He mentioned that the temple priest and his family were asleep on the premises when the explosion occurred. “At around 12 am, two people came on a bike, stopped outside the Thakur Dwara Mandir, conducted a recce and threw a grenade at the temple. The blast was so powerful that it also affected the nearby buildings, breaking their windows and all. The police later reached the spot. As per the evidence, this was a grenade attack,” he further said.