A blast took place at the gate of the Punjab Frontier Headquarters of the Border Security Force (BSF) here this evening, causing panic in the area.The incident occurred around 8 pm when Gurpreet (22), a delivery boy working with Flipkart, had come to deliver parcels to BSF personnel. While he was returning to his scooter after delivering one parcel and taking out another, an explosion occurred, ripping apart his scooter and also damaging some electrical equipment and poles in the vicinity. Window panes of a nearby shop were also shattered due to the impact.According to one theory, explosive material may have been planted inside a dustbin located between a BSNL box and the delivery boy’s scooter. The dustbin was reduced to fragments, while the BSNL box was also badly damaged. Eyewitnesses said apart from the explosion, they felt a sudden tremor, which also led to the collapse of a small BSNL signage about 100 m away.Meanwhile, Gurpreet sustained minor injuries in the incident, and the police have cordoned off the area. Investigators are also examining the possibility that the undelivered parcel, still lying in a box on the scooter, may have contained some explosive material. Dog squads and forensic teams have been called in for investigation.The incident led to panic in the area. Residents and vendors at a sabzi mandi a few hundred metres away said the explosion could be heard from nearly a kilometre away.Police sources said Gurpreet was a regular delivery boy at the BSF headquarters and hailed from the nearby Garha locality. It was routine for him to deliver parcels at the BSF gate. His father Kashmir Singh had retired from the BSF a few years ago. Senior police officials, including Commissioner of Police Dhanpreet Kaur, reached the spot to supervise the investigation.Dhanpreet Kaur said, “We are still collecting evidence and will share details once we narrow down the cause. No arrests have been made. The victim has sustained minor injuries.” Sources, however, said a mild explosive might have been used.Owing to its sensitivity, the area remains heavily guarded at all times, with a BSF sentinel post located near the scooter parking and a permanent naka of the Jalandhar city traffic police set up there round the clock.Political reactions also began to emerge soon after the incident. PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring termed it a serious lapse on the part of intelligence agencies and a lack of security preparedness, while former BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia described it as a major law and order failure.