Man Attacks Devotees Inside 'Darbar Sahib', Grenade Blast on Temple

On 14 Mar, five devotees celebrating Nanakshahi 557 (Sikh New Year) were injured when a man wielding an iron rod stormed Sri Guru Ramdas Niwas (inn) inside the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar. According to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the attacker, identified by police as Julfan from Shadipur in Yamunanagar, Haryana, had left home three days back after a family dispute. SGPC secretary Partap Singh said the man turned violent when questioned, striking two Sevadars (ones performing service) and three visiting devotees, two of whom sustained critical head wounds. The assailant was subdued by Sevadars and handed over to the police. A day later, on 15 Mar, two unidentified men on a motorcycle threw a grenade at Thakurdwara temple in the Khandwala area of Amritsar around midnight, damaging its wall but causing no injuries. Closed-circuit footage showed one suspect repeatedly struggling to remove the grenade’s pin before hurling it. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar linked the incident to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence mischief aiming to disturb communal harmony. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann denounced such attempts, accusing external elements of trying to destabilize the state’s peace. On 16 Mar, police tracked down two suspects believed responsible for the grenade attack, leading to an exchange of fire in which one of the accused, identified as Gursidak Singh from Bal village, was killed. Another suspect, Vishal, fled and is being pursued. These incidents follow a spate of grenade-throwing attacks over the past few months, targeting police posts and police stations. On 17 Mar, Panjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said 'Bullet for Bullet' is not aggressive policy but a self-defence mechanism reminding Panjab watchers of former DGP Julio Ribeiro's infamous statement from the 1980s. Ribeiro helmed the Panjab police from 1985-1988 when the trend of fake encounter killings started.