Bathinda blast: Rahul Gandhi, Amarinder Singh offer condolences

The Congress has strongly condemned the deadly car blast in Bathinda, Punjab, which occurred near the venue of the road show of a fellow party leader, in which three people were killed and around a dozen injured.

The incident took place near the venue of the road show of Congress leader Harminder Singh Jassi, who is contesting the upcoming polls in the state from the Maur assembly seat.

"Extremely concerned to learn of the blast during a Congress Rally in Maur, Punjab. I share the grief of the families who lost loved ones in this blast & pray for the quick recovery of the injured," Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said in a series of tweets.

Echoing similar sentiments, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh expressed shock at the deadly incident, and extended his condolences to the bereaved.

Bathinda Sub-divisional Magistrate, Latif Ahmed said prima facie it seemed to be a cooker blast.

"Three persons have died and 10-12 people are injured, some of them critical," said Ahmed, adding: "It was a cooker blast."

The incident came days before polling for the state elections, slated for February 04.

Punjab, along with four other states - most populous Uttar Pradesh, northern Uttarakhand, western Goa and remote northeastern Manipur - goes to polls in early February.