When bullets flew at dawn

PK Jaiswar/Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar/Gurdaspur, July 27

At 5:30am today in Dinanagar town of Gurdaspur, it rained bullets and those struck in the melee didn’t spare armed policemen. Army uniform-clad terrorists opened fire on commuters before storming a police station.

“Initially disturbed by the rattling sounds near the police station, we woke up completely when the continuous sound of rapid firing advanced on us. Soon some heavily armed men stormed the station, firing indiscriminately. We were four policemen present at the spot and we immediately bolted the main entrance from inside. After failing to open the door forcibly, they broke a windowpane and continued firing,” said Head Constable Ram Lal giving a firsthand account of the massacre.

He continued: “Punjab Home Guard Jawan Rajinder Kumar sustained a gunshot injury in the abdomen and fell. I took his rifle and rushed to the terrace and responded to the attack. This continued for about half an hour before the terrorists attacked from atop an adjoining double-storey building. A bullet pierced my arm but I continued fighting. Later, they fired a burst from the assault which hit my left leg and I collapsed.”

Ram Lal and Rajinder have been admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar, while inspector-rank officer Balbir Singh has been admitted to Fortis Hospital. The civilians injured in the attack were Tarun Lahotra, Raman Kumar, Satish Kumar and Satinder Singh.

A trainee wrestler, Tarun was on his way on a bicycle to attend a class when the terrorists fired at him. “I sustained a bullet injury on my shoulder after which I peddled into the SN College from where my coach took me to a hospital,” he said.

Raman and Satish were on a Punjab Roadways bus from Targarh to Dasuha in Hoshiarpur when they were attacked. Raman’s father said the terrorists ambushed the bus, leaving several persons injured.

Dinanagar SHO Mukhtiar Singh and Head Constable Ranjit Singh have been admitted to Gurdaspur Civil Hospital.

Mukhtiar, whose forearm was injured in the firing, said: “I reached the station after the munshi informed me about the attack. A bullet hit me when I was dispersing the crowd gathered at the spot.”

Ranjit said: “I was at the station since morning. The terrorists spared no one. A stray bullet hit my knee around 2pm after which I was rushed to the hospital.”

Satinder said: “I was with my brother at the Dinanagar bus stand when the incident took place. They (terrorists) were firing continuously. As my brother is in security forces, he instructed us all to lie down. His timely advice saved many lives.”

Amarjeet Singh, a dhaba owner, was also killed in the attack. 

Injured cops, civilians recall horror

Initially disturbed by the rattling sounds near the police station, we woke up completely when the continuous sound of rapid firing advanced on us. Soon some heavily armed men stormed the station, firing indiscriminately. — Ram Lal, head constable 

My father usually opens the dhaba around 5am. When the terrorists struck, he was cooking in the kitchen. On hearing gunshots, he came out and terrorists shot at him too. —Ranjit Kumar, son of a dhaba owner killed in the attack