A first information report filed on Thursday evening charged unknown persons under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the blast in Ludhiana’s district court complex, reported ANI.

One person was killed and five were injured in the blast that took place around 12.20 pm on Thursday in a bathroom on the second floor of the court complex. The cause of the blast has not been ascertained yet.

The FIR also includes sections of the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substance Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. The FIR was filed based on the statement of a Punjab Police sub-inspector who was present at the blast site, ANI reported.

The explosion damaged one of the walls of the building and the windows of some of the vehicles parked in the court’s premises, reported PTI.

“The identity of a possible suspect, whose body was found at the explosion site, is being ascertained,” Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar told ANI. “Bomb disposal squad is at the site.”

Bhullar said that all the five injured persons are out of danger, reported The Indian Express. He added that the police has been searching the court complex. A team of the National Security Guard was on its way to the blast site.

The Ludhiana police commissioner said that the area had been sealed and the forensic team will collect samples from there.

Since lawyers were on a strike, not many litigants and their attendants were in the building when the blast took place, The Tribune reported.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said: “Some anti-national elements are doing such acts as Assembly elections are nearing.The government is on alert. Those found guilty will not be spared.”

He also visited the blast site and met the injured persons. The chief minister announced free treatment for all the persons hurt in the incident.

“I reiterate that we would not let any person disturb the hard earned peace and communal harmony of the state,” Channi said in a tweet.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that the role of external forces cannot be ruled out as Punjab is a border state. He alleged these forces do not want the state to be stable.

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asked the Punjab Police to investigate the incident. “Disturbing news of a blast at Ludhiana court complex,” he wrote in a tweet.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said he was shocked to hear the news of the blast. “May Guru Sahib grant peace to departed souls and fast recovery to injured,” he said in a tweet. “Punjab government must focus on law and order instead of political vendetta to ensure peace and communal harmony in state.”

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been actively campaigning in Punjab ahead of the elections, expressed his condolences to the family of the person who died and hoped for a speedy recovery of the injured.

“Some people do not want Punjab to remain peaceful,” he said in a tweet. “Three crore people of Punjab will not allow their plans to succeed. We have to hold each other’s hands.”

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana expressed shock at the incident and asked Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, the chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, to “enquire about the developments”, reported Live Law.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the incident. “Strict action must be taken at the earliest against those guilty,” he said.