NEW DELHI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 15 others wounded some of them critically Tuesday evening in a blast near an election campaign rally in northern Indian state of Punjab, officials said.
The blast took place during a rally of Congress party candidate in Bathinda, 141 km southwest of Ludhiana, the main city of Punjab.
"On Tuesday evening three people including a nine-year-old boy were killed and 15 others wounded after a blast went off in Bathinda's Maur Mandi area during a road show," a police official posted in Bathinda said.
Following the blast, the wounded were immediately removed to the nearest medical facility, where conditions of some of them were stated to be critical.
The Congress party candidate Harminder Jassi campaigning in the locality however, was left unhurt.
The bomb blast triggered panic in the area. Locals said deafening sound of blast was heard in the entire area.
Police officials said the bomb was kept inside a car parked near the venue. The damaged car, according to police, was found charred to a large extent due to the impact of blast.
Local elections in Punjab are scheduled to be held on Saturday.
So far it is the first incident of poll related violence in the state.
Punjab witnessed an armed insurgency against Indian rule from 1980 until mid 1990s. During this period, Indian troops faced a bloody uprising from Sikh separatists demanding separate homeland.
Several thousand people mostly Sikhs, a minority community in India, were killed in more than a decade long militancy in the state. However, since 1993, the state has been relatively peaceful.
