Indian police arrest five 'suspects' after blast near Golden Temple

Police used CCTV footage from the third explosion to track down the suspects and make arrests

AMRITSAR (AFP) – Five people were arrested on Thursday after a third blast in less than a week shook the area around the Sikh holy site of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Indian police said.

Two of the suspects had prepared the improvised explosive devices at a guest house in the city, state police director general Gaurav Yadav told reporters, while the other three provided the materials.

Police are also questioning the wife of one suspect. Police have seized their electronic devices and phones, Yadav said.

He gave no information about their suspected motives and said investigations were continuing.

Indian media quoted Yadav as saying that the blasts on May 6, May 8 and near midnight on May 10 occurred outside the temple, which houses Sikhism’s holy scripture.

In the first incident, one of the suspects detonated a makeshift bomb containing about 200 grams of explosives after lowering it in a bag from the top of a building, he said.

The second bomb was detonated in a similar way in the dawn hours of the day, he added. Police did not provide further details of the third explosion, or confirm the total number of injuries.

However, Indian media reported there was at least one injury from the first and six injuries from the second blast.

Yadav said police used CCTV footage from the third explosion to track down the suspects and make arrests on Thursday.

The five suspects “have confessed that they were behind all three explosions,” Yadav said, calling the arrests a “breakthrough.”

Yadav said it was too early to speculate about a motive for the blasts and an investigation was ongoing.

“After detailed questioning, we will establish their motive. Why this location was selected … we will examine all the material we have from them,” he said.

Pressure for a separate Sikh homeland known as Khalistan sparked deadly violence in India in the 1980s and 1990s.

In March, a manhunt was launched in Punjab state to arrest a firebrand Sikh separatist that sparked protests and vandalism among the diaspora.

It was unclear whether that was connected to the three explosions.

Sikhs are a minority in India, but account for nearly 60% of Punjab’s 28 million population. They are among a number of minority groups to express concerns over a rise in hate crimes in recent years amid simmering religious tensions in the country.

The Golden Temple is one of Punjab’s top attractions, famous for its gold-encrusted dome and surrounding clear waters. It has also witnessed violence in the past – the Indian army stormed the temple in 1984 and killed Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a leader of an outlawed separatist movement that seeks to establish a sovereign state for Sikhs.