Chandigarh, April 2 -- A blast outside the Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Chandigarh on Wednesday evening triggered panic in the area, with police confirming that a "crude explosive device" appears to have been hurled at the site. No casualties were reported. Terror group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) has taken responsibility for the blast which occurred around 5 pm. A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started investigation. The Punjab BJP headquarters is located in Sector 37, which also houses Law Bhawan, Dr Ambedkar Bhawan and a petrol pump. The office often hosts press conferences and is a hub of other party activities. A video surfaced on social media showing a person carrying a helmet throwing a grenade-like object while another recorded the act. After the object was hurled, both started running, followed by the sound of a blast. Their faces were not visible in the 10-second video, the veracity of which was yet to be ascertained. Chandigarh senior superintendent of police Kanwardeep Kaur said, " We got the information about an explosion near the BJP office in Sector 37 around 5 pm. Prima facie, it appears that a small crude-type device was thrown." "Our crime branch and the operation cell have started investigation," she said, adding that a team from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory was also rushed to the site. An FIR under Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been registered at the Sector 30 police station, the SSP added. In a message on social media, BKI's Sukhjinder Singh Babbar said the blast is in retaliation to alleged tactics being used to eliminate Sikh youth. "The killers of Ranjit Singh of Gurdaspur will also not be spared," the message read. Police are yet to verify the veracity of the message. In September 2024, a grenade was hurled at the house in Sector 10-D to target a retired Punjab police official. US-based gangster Happy Pasiha, also linked with a terrorist group Babbar Khalsa Internationational, had claimed responsibility for the blast. Recently, various institutions in the city, including the Punjab and Haryana high court, the Punjab and Haryana secretariat and several schools had been receiving bomb threats by via emails purportedly from Khalistani terror outfits. A two-wheeler parked near the office was also damaged in the blast. Officials said it belonged to a worker at the BJP office. Earlier, it was believed that there had been a battery blast in the scooter. The party's state media cell head, Vineet Joshi, said the office staff heard the sound and they immediately alerted police. "There was panic after the blast. A scooter was damaged. The windowpanes of a car were damaged. Splinter marks are visible on the wall," he said. Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma had been staying at the party office for the past four days, and left for Delhi at 6 am today. BJP's state unit chief Sunil Jakhar dubbed it an "attack" at the party office. "First, there were continuous grenade attacks on police stations in Punjab; then recently, a statue of Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar was vandalised in Hoshiarpur; and today, the BJP state-level office in Chandigarh was attacked. The series of incidents indicates attempts to disrupt the communal harmony in the state," he said. Jakhar slammed the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and accused it of failing to rein in criminal activities in the state. "As a result, the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab is now beginning to affect Chandigarh as well," he said in a post on X. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused rival parties of holding him responsible for anything that happens in Chandigarh - from student protests at Panjab University and farmers' organisations' dharna to the joint stir by the BJP, Congress and SAD, and even a bomb blast. "When Bhagwant Mann says that Chandigarh belongs to Punjab, at that time, Bhagwant Mann is a traitor to the country. Because Chandigarh is related to the Centre, so Bhagwant Mann should stay away from Chandigarh matters," he said in a post on X, adding, "Now these tricks won't work." Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring strongly condemned the blast. "It is a matter of grave concern," he said, adding thankfully no loss of life has taken place. "The incident, however, reflects complete security and intelligence failure for which the onus lies on the Union home ministry," he added. Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia sought a thorough probe into the incident....