Terming the Ludhiana bomb blast incident as the most shocking and dastardly act, the Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday said several forces actively involved to create disturbances in the border state for their vested interests.

Condemning the incident as “unfortunate and tragic”, the CM said forces inimical to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state would never succeed in their nefarious designs with a sole motive to destabilize the state.

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Channi said that everybody knows the timing and the handiwork of those forces, as the Punjab Assembly polls are drawing nearer with every passing day, which was hell-bent upon to hatch such conspiracies to disturb the hard-earned peace and harmony in the state.

He said, “It is the need of the hour to condemn such incidents in the harshest possible words by one and all.”

Giving directions to the police authorities “to carry on a detailed investigation to get into the bottom of this cowardly and inhuman act”, Channi reiterated his firm commitment to book the perpetrators of this heinous crime and give them an exemplary punishment as a deterrent for others not to commit such crime in future. The CM said that any such attempt to disturb the law and order situation in the state will be dealt with sternly.

Connecting the sequence of the unfortunate attempt of the recent incident of sacrilege at Sri Harmandir Sahib and now the bomb blast in Ludhiana court complex at this juncture, Channi said that all this indicates to several forces actively involved to create disturbances in the border state for their vested interests. He said people of Punjab must remain vigilant to curb the unholy designs of such forces threatening the very ethos of communal harmony, peace, brotherhood, and amity.

Channi said that the Punjab government would soon give a befitting reply to such anti-social forces adding these would not be allowed to create a bogey of terror to traumatize the innocent people in wake of forthcoming assembly elections.

Envisaging wholehearted support and cooperation from the people, the CM appealed to them to exercise restraint in this hour of crisis besides helping the state civil and police administration in maintaining law and order.

He condoled the death of persons who have been killed in the bomb blast and prayed to Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to the aggrieved family members to bear this irreparable loss. Channi said the Punjab government is solidly behind the kin of the person who has lost their lives and those who have been seriously wounded during the blast.