Chandigarh, April 2
Ashwani Sharma on Thursday visited the site of the blast outside the party’s headquarters, a day after the incident triggered panic in the area.
The explosion occurred around 5 pm on Wednesday when a suspected crude explosive device was hurled near the office, officials said, adding that no casualties were reported.
Police cordoned off the area and deployed additional personnel, while a team of the National Investigation Agency inspected the site as part of the investigation.
Sharma, an MLA from Pathankot, reached the Punjab BJP office in the morning and reviewed the situation.
An unverified video circulating on social media showed a man pulling the pin from a blue-coloured grenade and throwing it, while another person recorded the act. The two were seen fleeing moments before the blast. Their faces were not visible in the 10-second clip, and its authenticity is yet to be confirmed. CCTV footage also showed suspects running across the road after the explosion.
In a separate unverified social media post, a person identified as Sukhjinder Singh Babbar claimed responsibility for the alleged grenade attack.
BJP national spokesperson R P Singh termed the incident “shocking” and said the fact that Sharma had left the office for Delhi earlier that morning suggested he could have been the target.
Singh said Sharma had been present at the office for the past two days before leaving for a political programme in Delhi and noted that he had recently been cautioned by the SSP of Pathankot over a specific threat perception. He said any possible link between the warning and the blast would be a matter of investigation.
He raised concerns over security, intelligence coordination, and the law and order situation in Punjab, calling for swift action against those responsible and stressing zero tolerance for such acts.
Sharma had left for Delhi at 6 am on Wednesday to attend a party event where senior advocate and former AAP MLA H S Phoolka joined the BJP.
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar described the incident as an “attack” on the party office and linked it to recent disturbances in the state, including grenade attacks on police stations and vandalism of a statue of B R Ambedkar in Hoshiarpur. He said such incidents pointed to attempts to disturb communal harmony.
Several political leaders, including Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, condemned the blast.
