In the first major terror attack in eight years, heavily armed men spread bullets at Punjab’s Gurdaspur police station leaving at least seven people dead, including two Punjab police personnel and several injured. One of the four suspected terrorists was eliminated in the retaliatory action by security forces. The attack also costed the life of Superintendent Baljit Singh.
Police reported the attackers first targeted a roadside eatery and took off in a white Maruti 800 with Punjab registration number. They shot dead a roadside vendor near Dinanagar bypass. They opened fire on passengers of a moving Punjab roadways bus before targeting a community health centre adjacent to Dinanagar police station. The gunmen barged into the Dinanagar police station and opened indiscriminate fire.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an immediate high-level meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other senior government functionaries to assess the situation. Union Minister Rajnath Singh has offered his assistance to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. He said in a statement, “Some terrorists have entered a police station and action has been initiated. I have talked to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Union Home Secretary L.C. Goyal about it and forces have already been rushed in and the operation is under way. I have asked the Border Security Force Director-General to intensify surveillance near the border. The situation is under control.”
Sources say the terrorists later holed up in an abandoned house with the encounter very much in effect. There were initial reports of a hostage situation but senior intelligence officials later said there was no such threat to any civilian and that efforts were being made to either capture or neutralise the militants. The incident took place around 5:30 a.m. when the terrorists, who are suspected to have sneaked in through the Indo-Pakistan border in Jammu, first targeted a bus ferrying civilians and then stormed into the police station.
Following an alert, combing operations discovered five improvised explosive devices on the railway tracks connecting Dinanagar to Pathankot. The National Security Guard was also rushed in to carry out bomb detection and disposal operations.
In the list of speculations, several pointed their fingers at the Khalistanis, but Badal cleared their name, saying they had nothing to do with the revival of terrorism in Punjab and that it appeared to be an attack carried out by a terrorist group active outside the state. “The Khalistanis never indulged in suicide strikes at any target. This is clearly a suicide attack, perpetrated by some known terror groups,” former Punjab Police chief Julio F Ribeiro said.
The PM’s office has their doubts on the neighbouring Pakistan and has considered the attack to be one of their attempts to throttle India. Jitendra Singh, a junior minister said, “There have also been earlier reports of Pakistan infiltration and cross-border mischief in this area.”
High alert has been called in Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand in the wake of the attack. The national capital geared up on security on bus stands, public places and markets. “We have briefed our officers and men to be vigilant and watchful in the wake of Punjab incident and an alert is being maintained,” PRO of Delhi Police Rajan Bhagat said. Additional security has been installed across borders and maximum alert announced across the north region of the country.
“Intelligence agencies have sounded a high alert for Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur cities. Intelligence agencies have told us that there should be high security for a few days in places like malls, railway stations and cinema halls as there could be a possible terror attack in one of these cities in the coming days,” minister of state for Home Ram Shinde informed the media.
