Two killed, several injured in blast at Indian court building

NEW DELHI: A powerful explosion at a court building in Ludhiana, a city in India’s northern Punjab state, killed at least two people and wounded two others on Thursday, according to police.

Footage showed police officers carrying the injured out of the building and asking others to leave the premises after the explosion near a restroom of the judicial complex in Ludhiana. “There’s been a blast but we cannot confirm the cause,” a police officer at the scene said.

“We can confirm that four people are injured and out of four, two are dead,” the official added. The blast damaged the walls of the bathroom and shattered glass in other rooms, Indian media reported.

Punjab state chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the government was “on alert” and announced an investigation. “I’m reaching the blast site shortly and I assure the people of the state that the guilty would not be spared,” Channi tweeted.

 

Saddened over the news of blast at Ludhiana court complex. I’m reaching the blast site shortly and I assure the people of the state that the guilty would not be spared. Anybody trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the state, will be taken to task

— Charanjit S Channi (@CHARANJITCHANNI) December 23, 2021

“Anybody trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the state, will be taken to task,” the Punjab state chief minister added.