Suspected Babbar Khalsa terrorist dies after bomb explodes in hand
What's the story
A suspected terrorist associated with the Pakistan-backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) was killed in an explosion on Tuesday morning.
The incident took place near Naushera village on the Amritsar-Majitha road, Punjab.
The unidentified man was trying to retrieve an explosive when it detonated.
Deputy inspector general (DIG), border range, Satinder Singh said that both the arms of the man were blown away in the explosion and he died on the spot.
Investigation underway
Police suspect mishandling led to fatal explosion
Police claimed the suspect buried the explosive at the spot and arrived around 9:15am to dig it up, but it exploded in the process.
The police suspect that the blast was caused by mishandling of the explosive device.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural) Maninder Singh said, "It appears that he did not handle it properly, and it exploded."
The police are now investigating possible links between this incident and Pakistan's ISI spy agency along with BKI.
Scene secured
Forensic team and bomb disposal squad on-site
"According to circumstantial evidence, it is clear that this man was a member of some terrorist organization," the DIG said.
A forensic team and a bomb disposal squad from Punjab Police reached the blast site soon after the incident.
They are investigating whether it was an IED (improvised explosive device) blast or a grenade explosion.
Rajbir Singh, who runs a shop near the site, said "the intensity of the explosion could be heard even a kilometer away."