Punjab twin blasts: Legal notice sent to Bhagwant Mann over allegations against BJP

New Delhi [India], May 7 : Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Tarun Chugh on Thursday sent a legal notice to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann over alleged defamatory remarks linked to recent bomb blast incidents in Punjab.

The notice alleges that Mann made "false, baseless and inflammatory" statements attributing the bomb blast incidents to the BJP without any credible evidence.

The legal notice claims that the Punjab Chief Minister's remarks were politically motivated and capable of "provoking public unrest, disturbing public order". It further states that the allegations contradict the stand of the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), who reportedly indicated the incidents appeared linked to foreign hostile and ISI-backed networks.

"You have insinuated that such violent incidents are politically motivated in view of upcoming elections and have directly or indirectly accused BJP of orchestrating such acts, which constitutes an allegation of the gravest nature made with reckless disregard for truth," the notice read.

"Your statement is patently false, politically motivated, defamatory per se, and intended to tarnish the reputation, credibility, and public standing of BJP and its leadership. Your conduct amounts to deliberate dissemination of misinformation with the intent to mislead the public, create distrust, and distort democratic discourse," it added.

The notice demands that Bhagwant Mann withdraw the allegedly "defamatory and false" remarks while issuing an unconditional public apology within seven days, and refrain from making similar statements against the BJP in the future. Chugh warned that failure to comply could lead to criminal defamation proceedings under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

Earlier, Punjab witnessed two blasts on Tuesday in Jalandhar and Amritsar. No injuries were reported.

The first blast occured in Jalandhar after a scooter caught fire around 8 pm outside the Border Security Force (BSF) Punjab Frontier headquarters.

Hours later, another blast occurred in Khasa near the cantonment area in Amritsar at around 10:50 pm, prompting a swift response from police and security agencies.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav later inspected the sites of the recent low-intensity blasts reported from Amritsar and Jalandhar, and indicated the involvement of Pakistan-backed elements in these blasts.

Addressing the media after visiting the spot in Khassa, the DGP said the incident appears to be part of Pakistan's "ISI-design" to create unrest in Punjab.

"We suspect that since the anniversary of carrying out Operation Sindoor is approaching, this is a part of Pakistan's ISI designs to cause disruptions in Punjab," he said.

The DGP further stated that an FIR has been registered under relevant sections of law and that a coordinated investigation is underway with the Army and other agencies.

Multiple teams are examining human intelligence, technical inputs and forensic evidence to establish the exact nature and origin of the blasts.

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