Two separate low-intensity explosions within a span of few hours on the late evening of Tuesday (May 5, 2026) have been reported near military areas in Punjab’s Amritsar and Jalandhar, stoking anxiety, even as security has been beefed up across the State.

The twin explosions gave the Opposition parties political ammunition to target the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, blaming it for deteriorating law and order in the State.

A loud noise was reported near the boundary wall of the Army cantonment area on Khasa Road in Amritsar on Tuesday night, which, according to the police, appears to be a “low (intensity) explosion”. Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural), Sohail Qasim Mir, who visited the scene, told media persons that authorities received information between 11:00 and 11:15 p.m. regarding the “loud noise”.

“Police teams were immediately dispatched to the location, where they found a tin sheet affixed to the boundary wall of the Khasa cantonment that had been damaged and had collapsed,” Mr. Mir noted that preliminary inspection and analysis suggested that an object may have been hurled at the wall, causing what appeared to be a “low explosion”. No significant damage or casualties were reported.

Quick response teams, forensic experts, and the bomb disposal squad were deployed to the site, and a joint search operation involving the Army and the Border Security Force (BSF) was subsequently launched.

Earlier in the evening (May 5) in Jalandhar, a scooter parked near the headquarters of the Border Security Force’s Punjab Frontier caught fire. The incident occurred at around 8 p.m., causing panic among the locals, some of whom claimed they heard a blast-like sound from the vehicle. However, police cautioned that it was premature to determine whether the incident was the result of an explosion or simply an accidental fire.

Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur said that initial observations suggested the parked scooter had caught fire, but added that all possible angles were being thoroughly investigated.

Hitting out at the AAP government, former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal said “Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day— On May 5 in Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, and on April 27, near the Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern.”

He accused Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who is also the State Home Minister, of pushing the State back into dark days.

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Congress’s Partap Singh Bajwa said the explosions were deeply alarming. “Incidents like these point to serious lapses in safety and vigilance. The government must stop reacting after the fact and start taking proactive, visible steps to secure lives and restore public confidence,” he said.

BJP aims to secure votes by spreading violence: CM Mann

Mr. Mann blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for the explosions. “The (West) Bengal elections have just concluded. They (BJP) themselves said it’s Punjab’s turn now. This means that the small bomb blasts that have occurred, which are currently being investigated, are part of the BJP’s election preparations in Punjab. They aim to secure votes by spreading violence and intimidating people,” said Mr. Mann, talking to media persons on Wednesday (May 6, 2026).

Reacting sharply to Mr. Mann’s remark, BJP State president Sunil Jakhar said “Mr. Mann is not fit to be the Chief Minister of Punjab”.

He termed Mr. Mann’s remark blaming the BJP for blasts in Amritsar and Jalandhar as “irresponsible”.