An explosion, the third in less than a week, occurred near the Golden Temple, sacred site of Sikhs, in the Indian city of Amritsar (North), police reported Thursday. Authorities said the low-intensity explosion occurred around midnight (18:30 p.m. Paris time) on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the blast is not known, police said. "The area is completely cordoned off and a scientific (police) team is working on it," said Naunihal Singh, a police official. Police added that five people were arrested on Thursday, without giving further details.
The Golden Temple, theatre of violence
The two previous explosions, which occurred on the night of Saturday to Sunday and Monday morning, each injured one person. Police did not reveal the cause of the detonations. The Golden Temple, erected within a vast man-made pond, is revered by Sikhs around the world. But it has been the scene of violence on several occasions, including when Indian special forces stormed it in 1984 to drive out Sikh militants who occupied it.
Punjab authorities arrested a Sikh separatist preacher in the north of the state in late April after a month-long hunt by thousands of agents, led to protests and vandalism by members of the diaspora.
Amritpal Singh, 30, has made a name for himself in recent months by calling for the creation of Khalistan, a state claimed by the Sikh separatists of Punjab, whose struggle sparked violence in the 1980s and 1990s that left thousands dead. It is unclear whether the recent explosions are related to his arrest.
