Event
Grenade attacks on Punjab police posts and the BJP office in Chandigarh
From late 2024, blasts hit police posts in Amritsar and Gurdaspur. Police and the NIA blame Babbar Khalsa International and the ISI. A grenade hit the BJP's Chandigarh office on April 1, 2026.
Who: Punjab Police under DGP Gaurav Yadav, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the accused, mostly young men from border districts. Police and the NIA blame Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the Khalistan Zindabad Force, working with gangsters and foreign-based handlers. They name Happy Passia, described as US-based, and Harwinder Singh Rinda, described as Pakistan-based. Police also say Pakistan's ISI directs the attacks.
What: The Tribune counted 16 grenade or explosive attacks between September 9, 2024 and April 8, 2025. In the border belt they included an IED planted at Ajnala police station on November 23, 2024, a blast that shattered windows at Majitha police station in Amritsar on December 4, an explosion at Islamabad police station in Amritsar on December 17, and grenade attacks on check-posts at Kalanaur in Gurdaspur on December 18 and 20. After the January 2025 blast at Gumtala police chowki in Amritsar, Passia claimed online that it avenged the killing of two associates in what he called a fake encounter. The Amritsar police commissioner said he could not authenticate the claim and that the explosion had damaged a car radiator. The NIA charged seven people over the December 2024 grenade attack on Ghanie Ke Bangar police station in Gurdaspur district, four of them arrested and three absconding. On April 1, 2026 a grenade was thrown outside the BJP's Punjab office in Chandigarh after 5 pm, damaging vehicles. No one was hurt. Police said the module was backed by the ISI, with handlers in Portugal and Germany, and had arrested seven accused by May. The BJP said its state working president, Ashwani Sharma, was the target. In May 2026 police said there had been more than 30 grenade attacks since October 2024 and that targets had shifted to central forces and installations, such as the BSF headquarters in Jalandhar.
Where: Mostly Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Batala, with other attacks in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Patiala. The Tribune's list names no attack in Tarn Taran.
Why it mattered: These are the accounts of the police and the NIA. Claims of responsibility were mostly made online, and in some earlier cases police first gave other causes, such as a tyre burst. The reports we opened describe arrests and chargesheets but no trial verdicts. The BJP said the Chandigarh attack was meant to scare its leaders and slow its growth in Punjab before the 2027 Assembly elections.
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Sources
- 16 grenade attacks rock state in 7 months, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- BKI claims responsibility for grenade attack on Gumtala police chowki, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- NIA searches 15 locations linked with Babbar Khalsa in Punjab, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- NIA charges 7 accused for grenade attack on police station in Punjab, All India Radio News. newsonair.gov.in
- BJP office blast in Chandigarh: Ashwani Sharma could have been target, says party spokesperson, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com
- Grenade attack outside BJP office in Chandigarh solved, five accused arrested, All India Radio News. newsonair.gov.in
- 3 blasts in 9 days in Punjab: Terror groups shift focus to central forces, installations, The Tribune. tribuneindia.com