Three persons were killed and 11 persons were seriously injured in a car blast in Maur Mandi on 31 January as soon as the Congress candidate Harminder Jassi ended his election rally from Bathinda (Urban). Jassi, a relative of the Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, escaped with minor bruises. It is mentioned that he was in a Toyota Fortuner.
During the incident, the Maruti Alto car with no persons inside it was thrown up in the air of up to 15-20 feet and it fell down while injuring at least 11 persons. The registration number of the car was false one. The explosion occurred at barely 5-10 metres away from where Jassi had addressed the election rally outside the Congress party office.
The police officials have confirmed that Harpal Singh Pali, the in-charge of the congress office at Maur Mandi is one among the dead. The injured people were rushed to Bathinda and Ludhiana hospitals. During investigation, the local residents claimed that they heard three blasts followed by gunshots, immediately after Jassi winded up her rally, whereas Vicky, Jassi’s driver claims it as a planned attack. The police found five cartridges and a Bullet motorcycle at the incident site. The agitated locals and Congress workers raised slogans against the police for laxity.
Meanwhile, a report regarding the car blast incident has been sent to the Election Commission, and the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has expressed grief over the deaths.
