JALALABAD: A bike blast in Jalalabad town of Fazilka district on Wednesday late night claimed the life of the motorcycle rider and left another injured. The incident triggered panic among the locals, coming close on the heels of a red alert in the state.
According to an eyewitness, the powerful blast occurred when the bike — a five-year-old Bajaj Platina model — was near the Punjab National Bank. The rider, Balwinder Singh alias Luv (23) of Jhugge Nihanga Wala in Ferozepur, was thrown several feet in the air and died on the spot. The injured passerby was referred to Faridkot Medical College in a critical condition.
Security agencies are examining whether the blast was a well-planned conspiracy or an accident. The bike that exploded did not have a number plate. Agencies are also looking into whether there was any link between this blast and the recent tiffin bomb case in a shop in Ferozepur, in which the shop was reportedly gutted after some miscreants set it on fire by putting some chemical at night.
DIG, Ferozepur range, JS Aulakh, SSP Fazilka Deepak Hillori and forensic teams from Mohali visited the spot on Thursday. The police also confiscated a locked motorbike parked near the explosion site. It is expected that the investigation of this case could be handed over to the NIA shortly.
The deceased’s sister, Jyoti, claimed he was coming to meet her when the blast took place. The police, after collecting call details of the deceased’s cellphone, have also begun investigating his family members. DSP Jalalabad Palwinder Singh claimed that the parked motorbike belonged to one Sukha, who is the cousin of the deceased and from the same border village. There were unconfirmed reports on Thursday evening of police nabbing Sukha.
Auto maintenance experts said while it is uncommon for such an explosion to occur, a spark in the bike’s plug could have caused a fire in the engine area, leading to the fuel tank explosion.
Meanwhile, police sources said the cousins, who were facing cases under Excise Act, and had left for Jalalabad on two bikes on Wednesday.
Fazilka SSP Deepak Hillori said that it is too early to say anything and the matter is being investigated.
This is the second blast in Punjab in a month. Earlier on August 8, there was a blast in an oil tanker at Ajnala in Amritsar district.
