Updated
Gurdaspur, Jul 27 (PTI): Three heavily-armed fidayeen in army fatigues, believed to have come from Pakistan, today sprayed bullets on a moving bus and stormed a police station, killing eight persons, including an SP, while all the terrorists were gunned down in a day-long operation.
In the first major terror attack in the state in eight years, the terrorists, suspected to be members of either Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) or Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), launched a pre-dawn strike targeting a roadside eatery, passenger bus and later barged into the Dinapur police station.
The terrorists killed eight persons-- three civilians, Superintendent of Police (Detective), Baljit Singh, a Punjab provincial service officer, two home guards and two policemen. The toll may go up as some of the 15 injured were in a serious condition.
All the three militants were killed in the exchange of fire with security forces at an abandoned building adjacent to the Dinanagar police station.
Though there was no official word on who the attackers were, but they are suspected to have sneaked into India from Pakistan through the unfenced border between Jammu and Pathankot or Chak Hira in Jammu district.
Earlier this year, terrorists belonging to JeM whose fidayeen combatants, clad in Army fatigues, stormed a police station in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua District on March 20 killing six persons, including three security force personnel.
"The operation is over," a top Punjab police official said at the end of a fierce gunbattle involving Punjab police and commandos of the elite Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) that lasted nearly 12 hours.
Combing operations continued for some time after the multiple attacks in which 15 others were injured. Weapons and a Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment were recovered from the building where the terrorists were holed up.
According to Punjab Police IG (Counter Intelligence) Gaurav Yadav, SP Baljit Singh succumbed to bullet injuries sustained in the gunbattle. Police said out of those brought to civil hospital at Gurdaspur, seven seriously injured were referred to Amritsar. They were aged between 15-55 years.
Three militants were killed in the operation, Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, Abhinav Trikha said.
"The terrorists were carrying sophisticated weapons. We have recovered 'Made in China' grenades from them. They were wearing combat fatigues," Director General of Punjab Police, Sumedh Singh Saini told reporters here.
According to police, 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. The militants also targeted another part of the complex where the families of police personnel reside and hurled grenades.
An alert has been sounded along the international border in Punjab and Jammu as the terrorists are suspected to have infiltrated from there, the sources said.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval about the situation. Later, he met top officials to review the security situation in the wake of the attack.
Singh said he will make a statement on the issue tomorrow in Parliament, where members today sought a detailed government response.
Dinanagar town, which is close to Pakistan, falls in Gurdaspur district. It is sandwiched between Gurdaspur town on one side and Pathankot on the other and lies about 260 km from capital Chandigarh.
On October 14, 2007, seven persons were killed and more than 30 were injured when a powerful explosion took place at the cinema hall in Ludhiana, the last major terror attack in the state which had grappled with Sikh militancy for several years from 1980s.
Earlier Report
Terror strikes Punjab, SP among 6 killed, 1 militant eliminated
Gurdaspur, Jul 27 (PTI): In the first major terror strike in Punjab in eight years, heavily-armed militants in army uniform today sprayed bullets on a moving bus and stormed a police station, killing six persons, including an SP, and injuring eight others in Gurdaspur bordering Pakistan.
One militant was killed and another seriously injured in the gunbattle with security forces that stretched for over 10 hours as the terrorists, who went of a rampage at around 5 AM, were holed up in a vacant building adjacent to Dinanagar police station.
The terrorists have killed six persons-- three civilians and three policemen including Superintendent of Police (Detective), Baljit Singh, a Punjab provincial service officer, police said.
Official sources said it was too early to say which terrorist outfit had carried out the strike, but finger of suspicion is on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba as the modus operandi of the militants was similar to the attacks in Jammu region in recent past.
According to Punjab Police IG (Counter Intelligence) Gaurav Yadav, SP Baljit Singh succumbed to bullet injuries sustained in the gunbattle.
Police said out of the eight injured brought to civil hospital at Gurdaspur, seven seriously injured were referred to Amritsar. They all were aged between 15-54 years.
One militant was killed and another seriously injured in the operation, Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, Abhinav Trikha, said.
According to police, 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. The militants also targeted another part of the complex where the families of police personnel reside and hurled grenades.
An alert has been sounded along the international border in Punjab and Jammu as the terrorists are suspected to have infiltrated from there, the sources said.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval about the situation.
Singh said he will make a statement on the issue tomorrow in Parliament, where members today sought a detailed government response.
On October 14, 2007, seven persons were killed and more than 30 were injured when a powerful explosion took place at the cinema hall in Ludhiana, the last major terror attack in the state which had grappled with Sikh militancy for several years from 1980s.
Security agencies have heightened vigil across the contry especially Punjab and neighbouring states as well a Union Territory of Chandigarh in the wake of the attack which came just three weeks ahead of Independence Day.
In a related development, five live bombs were found on Amritsar-Pathankot railway track and the train services on the route have been suspended.
Dina Nagar town, which is close to Pakistan, falls in Gurdaspur district. It is sandwiched between Gurdaspur town on one side and Pathankot on the other and lies about 260 km from capital Chandigarh.
Officials said schools, colleges and other institutions have been shut today in the town in view of the incident.
Local resident Kamaljeet Singh Matharu, who said that the assailants had snatched his car after firing at him, said they were dressed in army uniform and were heavily armed.
Matharu received gunshot injuries and is admitted to hospital.
Three of the dead were identified as Ghulam Rasool, Asha Rani and Amarjeet Singh.
Ishwar Chandra Sharma, IG, Border Zone, said the gunmen attacked a Punjab roadways bus and then entered the police station complex.
"We have engaged them in an adjoining building which is an abandoned building and a barrack," he said.
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said there is no hostage situation.
According to Civil hospital authorities at Gurdaspur, SP Baljit Singh was brought dead to the hospital.
Fear gripped the town this morning and people largely remained indoors.
"People are in a state of shock and terrified here after they came to know about the attack," said Jatinder Kumar, whose house is just 500 metre away from the Dina Nagar police station.
"We could clearly listen to the sound of firing going on at police station between and security personnel and (suspected) militants," Jatinder, who is an employee of Punjab Health department, said.
Strongly condemning the terror strike, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said that terrorism was a national problem.
"Terrorism is a national problem, it is not a state problem. It has to be tackled by national policies," Badal said and demanded that the border be sealed.
Two army helicopters were also pressed into operation. Security personnel, SWAT commandos of Punjab police and J-K Police, were part of the join operation to flush out the terrorists. Army commandos were also mobilised to assist them.
Political parties condemned the "cowardly" attack with Congress saying a befitting reply should be given to the perpetrators.
Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said there have been reports earlier also of infiltration from Pakistan and "cross-border mischief" in this "vulnerable" zone.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said the Prime Minister should the government should take stern action.
"Instead of talking, the country hopes for solid steps and action," he said, adding it was a "startling" incident and if the terrorists had managed to cross the border, questions will be raised if it was a security lapse and failure of intelligence agencies.
Condemning the attack in Punjab, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abullah said an attempt was being made to open a new front along J-K and the Chief Ministers of the two states should co-ordinate, especially in the field of intelligence sharing, to deal with it.
"No degree of condemnation will suffice. Such attacks happen repeatedly, especially near the border. We would want to know who is behind this.
"It is apparent that an attempt is being made to open a new front along the Jammu and Kashmir. It remains to be seen how far they go and how successful they are in their attempt," Omar said.
Condemning the terror attack, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said all measures will be taken to maintain law and order and ensure safety of people in the state.
Sukhbir Badal, who is the State's Home Minister, is on a visit to Poland starting today. He asked people to remain calm and maintain peace and harmony in the state.
Claiming that Punjab is once again under "terrorist threat", state Congress chief Pratap Singh Bajwa said the incident should serve as a wake-up call for both the Centre and the state governments.
"The state already has a history of terrorism. Punjab has passed through the dark days earlier. Today's incident is very serious. Punjab once again is under terrorist threat," he said.
In the wake of the attack, BSF said it has stepped up vigil. "We are on alert. We have enhanced vigil along the entire international border with Pakistan ," BSF IG, Punjab Frontier, Anil Paliwal said.