Terror attack in Punjab: What we know till now.Gurdaspur terrorists sneaked in from Pakistan to launch attack

Jul 27, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Punjab Roadways driver Nanak Chand.    

 

NEW DELHI: Terrorists attacked a police station and a bus in Punjab's Gurdaspur on Monday morning killing at least 9 people and leaving many others injured.

Here's what we know till now.

* Terrorists, three to four in number, hijacked a white Maruti Alto car.

* They first attacked a state roadways bus going to Jammu. One person has been reportedly killed in this attack.

* The terrorists then attacked Dina Nagar police station, killing a cop on duty.

* The terrorists are holed up in police station and an encounter is under way.

* According to TV reports, the terrorists entered from Pathankot.

* Five live bombs were found on railway track near Gurdaspur

* Army has reached the Gurdaspur encounter site.

* NSG commandos have also been rushed to the site.

* Schools and colleges in Gurdaspur have been closed.

* Army helicopters are at the attack site to assist in counter operations.

* According to TV reports, not 4 but 15 terrorists are involved in attack on police station. However, there is still no official confirmation on this.

* Emergency home ministry meet at 10am. NSA along with IB, RAW chief to attend meet: TV reports

* 6 civilians, 3 police home guards killed & 4 injured in Gurdaspur terror attack; no reports of hostage

* Police say possibility of it being a pro Khalistan attack cannot be ruled out

* Terrorists are occupying an abandoned house: Kiren Rijiju

* IB claims the terrorists came from Narowal from Pakistan

* J&K on high alert. The national highway at Pathankot is closed.

* Alert sounded in Parliament, security heightened in Punjab, J&K, Maharashtra.

* 3 columns of Army, a bomb disposal squad and commandos of special forces have engaged terrorists.

* Branch line between Pathankot and Amritsar affected. 4 passenger trains halted after recovery of bombs: Northern Railway.
* Punjab Police SP (Detective) Baljeet Singh killed in the attack

* Army says the state police wants to handle the operation on its own

* One terrorist neutralised, another injured. Home ministry assessment is that there may be no more than 4 terrorists in attack team

* 6 dead in Punjab terror attack so far: 3 civilians & 3 cops, including Punjab police SP who got hit in crossfire: Home secy L C Goyal to TOI

* ​Gurdaspur operation ends, all 3 terrorists killed.

 

 

Gurdaspur terrorists sneaked in from Pakistan to launch attack

NEW DELHI: The perpetrators of Monday's terror strike in Punjab are suspected to have sneaked into India from Pakistan through the unfenced border between Jammu and Pathankot or Chak Hira in Jammu district to launch the brazen assault about which central agencies had intelligence inputs.

Union home ministry sources said the terrorists, the name of whose outfit was still unclear, may have entered the Indian territory around last midnight and hit the highway using Paharpur road, nearly 15km from the international border, to unleash mayhem that left at least six dead, including an SP rank officer of Punjab police.

The last attack in Jammu was carried out by terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed whose fidayeen combatants, clad in Army fatigues, stormed a police station in Jammu & Kashmir's Kathua district on March 20 this year, killing at least six people, including three security force personnel. Both the militants had been killed in retaliatory action.

The terrorists involved in Monday's attacks, also wearing Army uniforms, reached Parmanand village on Jammu & Kashmir's border with Punjab where they attempted to hijack a tempo at 5.30am. The tempo driver, however, managed to flee.

Later they hijacked a Maruti 800 car after injuring its driver who is hospitalized, before killing a roadside vendor near Dinanagar bypass and spraying a Punjab roadways bus with bullets.

They then storm Dinanagar police station and shot dead a sentry. Showing guts, an alert head constable picked up the rifle of the deceased sentry and fired at the terrorists, numbering three to four.

The militants have since then holed up in vacant flats in the area and are engaged in intermittent exchange of fire with Punjab police personnel, who have cordoned off the area with the help of paramilitary forces.

The heavily-armed terrorists have also Gurudaspur SP (detective) Baljeet Singh, a Punjab provincial police service officer. Several civilians have been injured. One militant was killed and another seriously wounded in the gunbattle.

Sources said militants, who could be from Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit, may have entered Punjab because of heightened security on the Jammu side for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.

Home minister Rajnath Singh, who is away in Madhya Pradesh for CRPF's raising day function, has spoken to BSF chief DK Pathak and directed him to enhance security along the international border.

Punjab and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh had been warned of a possible terror strike following intelligence inputs generated by central agencies and the matter had come up during Union home secretary LC Goyal's visit to Jammu & Kashmir in the last week of June.

The intelligence inputs spoke about the possibility of Pakistan-based militants targeting locations in the two states due to enhanced security in the Jammu region.