IAF copters, HP, Punjab cops on lookout for four

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, September 28

The Air Force today pressed into service low-flying choppers equipped with thermal sensors even as Pathankot and Kangra policemen carried out an extensive search operation along the Chakki river to locate suspected militants whose movement was reported yesterday.

Pathankot hosts some high-security entities, including Mamun Cantonment, Air Force base, ammunition depot and Ranjit Sagar Dam. 

SSP Rakesh Kaushal said they along with the Kangra police were scanning areas along the Chakki, which flows into Punjab from Himachal Pradesh. “We received a tip-off about intruders yesterday... The search operation will be extended up to Kangra hills,” he said.

Sources say a woman reported having seen four men in fatigues roaming near the airbase late last evening. The police later found an Army uniform near the Air Force station, which added to their suspicion that infiltrators may have entered high-security zone.

Throughout the night and today morning, helicopters made repeated sorties over the location where suspected movement had been recorded. The police today took the help of SWAT team before making their way along the banks of the Chakki.