A petrol bomb attack was reported at clinic of renowned homeopath Civil Defence Chief Warden and BJP leader Dr. Tarsem Garg in Bathinda late on Monday night and no one was injured in the incident but property inside the clinic premises was damaged and police have started an investigation and are examining all possible angles.
According to the information available two unidentified masked youths arrived on a motorcycle outside Dr. Garg's Hahnemann Clinic on Mela Ram Road at around 9:40 pm to 10 pm and one of the individuals allegedly lit a glass bottle containing a flammable liquid while the other was reportedly recording the incident. The burning bottle was then thrown inside clinic gate before both men fled the scene on their motorcycle.
The petrol bomb landed near flowerpots inside the clinic setting the plants on fire and a scooter parked in outer veranda also caught fire causing significant damage to its front portion and plastic flowerpots were scorched in the incident.
At the time of the attack Dr. Garg was not inside the clinic and his accountant and driver were sleeping on the premises. According to Dr. Garg he received a phone call from his staff around 9:45 pm informing him that an explosion resembling a petrol bomb attack had taken place and fortunately no one inside the clinic was injured.
After receiving the information Dr. Garg instructed his staff to stay away from the affected area and immediately informed the police by calling 112 emergency helpline following which the police control room was also alerted about the incident.
Senior police officials, including DIG Harjit Singh and SSP Dr. Jyoti Yadav, reached the spot soon after and began an investigation and forensic teams, a dog squad and technical units were deployed to collect evidence from the scene. Police are also examining CCTV footage from the clinic and nearby locations to identify the attackers and understand the sequence of events and another suspicious bottle similar to a petrol bomb was also recovered from the site after the attack. Investigators are examining it as part of the ongoing probe.
A young man who was present inside the clinic during the incident said that two masked individuals arrived outside the gate around 10 pm and according to his account one attacker stood outside setting fire to a bottle while the second person appeared to be recording a video and the burning bottle was then thrown inside the clinic premises causing flames that damaged the flowerpots and a parked scooter. After people inside clinic raised an alarm the attackers fled from the spot.
Dr. Garg later reviewed footage from the CCTV camera installed outside the clinic and said the video showed attackers stopping in the street before lighting a glass bottle containing petrol, diesel or kerosene and throwing it into the clinic. He said the bottle produced a loud blast-like sound when it landed and the fire spread immediately.
Around midnight the scope of investigation widened after Dr. Garg's wife reportedly received a threatening phone call. According to Dr. Garg the caller identified himself as gangster Shahzad Bhatti and claimed responsibility for the attack and also issued threats following which the police were informed about the call immediately and investigators are examining its authenticity and possible connection with the incident.
Police have not officially confirmed any motive behind the attack and have not linked it to any individual or organisation at this stage and the incident has also led to political speculation. Dr. Tarsem Garg has previously been associated with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and had reportedly stepped away from active politics after not receiving a ticket for the municipal corporation elections. His wife later contested elections on a BJP ticket however the police have not confirmed any political angle and have said the investigation is continuing.
The attack took place just before scheduled visit of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to Bathinda and the clinic is located in a highly sensitive area with a large RSS office situated nearby making the incident a matter of security concern. Dr. Garg said he has no personal enmity with anyone and has never received such threats in the past and also stated that it is now responsibility of the police to identify those behind the attack and determine their motive.