Amid high alert, man caught with illegal pistol, cartridges

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, August 17

Amid the red alert sounded by the Punjab Police, Pathankot cops have nabbed a man moving under suspicious circumstances and recovered a .32-bore pistol and three cartridges from his possession.

SSP Deepak Hilori confirmed the development. He said the accused had been identified as Mukesh Kumar, alias Jaffu, of Thutowal Kharkara village falling under the jurisdiction of Narot Jaimal Singh police station.

SP (Detective) Prabhjot Singh Virk said more arrests were likely to be made after questioning the accused.

“He was arrested from the Darshopur T-point on the Darshopur-Taragarh road on Friday night. Several cases under the IPC, including one under the Arms Act, have been registered against him at Narot Jaimal Singh police station,” said Virk.

The Pathankot police have also intensified checking near the border, particularly near Bamial village. The three terrorists, who laid siege to the Dinanagar police station on July 27, 2015 and the four militants who attacked the Pathankot Air Force station on January 1, 2016, are said to have entered the country through Bamial.

“We are on an alert and maintaining stringent security at strategic places in the city and its adjoining suburbs. We have also asked rumour-mongers to stop floating gossip. Shepherds, having their dwellings near the international border, are also been frisked and their houses are being searched,” said the SSP.

A senior officer claimed that a majority of the shepherds belong to the Muslim community and hence a special vigil is being kept on their activities. The city hosts the Army’s ammunition dump, considered to be one of the biggest dumps in the country.

“Night vigil is also being maintained. Security in and around dump and near Mamoon cantonment and air base has been increased. Men in civvies have been deployed near the bus stand and the railway station,” said the SSP.