A new explosion occurred Monday morning near the Golden Temple, the Sikh shrine in the Indian city of Amritsar. It was the second explosion in less than 48 hours. This is reported by the police, who have launched an investigation.
There were no casualties and no damage.
The previous explosion dates from Saturday night. There was one injured. The Golden Temple, in the middle of a large man-made lake, is a sanctuary for Sikhs worldwide. But several times, the temple in Amritsar, the north of the northern state of Punjab, was the theatre of violence.
In 1984, for example, Indian special forces raided it to chase away Sikh activists who occupied it.
Authorities in Punjab arrested a separatist Sikh preacher in the north of the state in late April. A month-long manhunt by thousands of officers preceded the arrest. The man, Amritpal Singh (30), has made himself noticed in recent months with his plea for the establishment of Khalistan, the state that the separatist Sikh movement in Punjab strives for.
Their struggle in the 1980s and 1990s claimed thousands of lives. It is unclear whether the recent explosions are related to his arrest.
