Army Takes Possession of Missile Remnants Found in Amritsar Villages

Jalandhar: Panic gripped two villages of Amritsar in the early hours today, May 8, when the villagers heard a loud noise in the sky and found missile debris in the wheat fields. No loss of life or property was reported from the villages.

A huge blast was heard in both the villages at around 1 am. The ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and now, Operation Sindoor, had also led to Punjab residents feeling on edge.

As per reports, the missile was five-feet long and cylindrical in structure and did not make any impact on the fields where it fell. While two parts of the missile fell in Jethuwal village, one part fell in Makhan Windi village. No official confirmation has been made if the missile was of Indian or Pakistan origin.

Earlier in the day, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) issued a press statement informing that in the night of May 7 and 8, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India including Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, using drones and missiles.

The press note mentioned that these were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defence systems. “The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations that prove the Pakistani attacks”, the press note read.

'Police were already searching for missile remnants'

Talking to The Wire, Malkit Singh, the member panchayat of Jethuwal village, whose brother was the first one to spot the missile debris in the village said, “My younger brother went to the fields in the morning at around 5 am. He raised an alarm and came rushing home to inform that a missile like object was lying the fields. We were terrified to hear his claims and was shocked to see the remnants in the fields.”

Malkit Singh said that they immediately informed the village sarpanch and the Amritsar Police, who reached the spot and examined the missile debris. “Later, a team of Army officials also reached our village Jethuwal and took the missile debris. We got to know from the police that when the blast took place, Amritsar Police was already searching for its remnants and details. They were aware of the developments which were taking place at that time,” he said.

The panchayat member said that smaller parts of the missile fell on houses too. However, there were no reports of any kind of loss of property.

Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Maninder Singh was not available for comments. Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney responded to The Wire in a message and said, “The missile debris found in Jethuwal and Makhan Windi villages were being examined thoroughly.”

When asked if she had any information about the origin of the missile, whether it was of Pakistan origin, the DC responded, “No.”

'Know how to stay vigilant'

Earlier, Amritsar Member Parliament (MP) Gurjeet Singh Aujla also visited Jethuwal and Makhan Windi villages and told The Wire that the Army authorities have defused the missile and taken its remnants in possession.

“The missile debris are in the control of the Army authorities. It was the villagers who first heard the loud noise and then saw the missile debris. People in the border districts like Amritsar and Gurdaspur have seen wars earlier too and know how to stay vigilant”, he said.

“While we attacked the militant bases of Pakistan, they were targeting our civilian population. We urged people not to panic and maintain calm,” he said, claiming that the missile was of Pakistan origin.