Grenade lobbed at Pathankot Army camp

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, November 22

The twin border districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur were put on high alert after two motorcycle-borne persons lobbed a Pakistan-made hand grenade at an Army camp leading to a low-intensity blast around midnight in Pathankot.

Past terror attacks

• July 27, 2015: 3 LeT terrorists enter Dinanagar police station; 7 persons, including ultras, killed
• January 2, 2016: 4 Jaish ultras lay siege to Air Force Station in Pathankot leading to 48-hr gun battle

Senior officers, after completing preliminary probe, termed it a “terror attack”.

IG (Border range) Mohinish Chawla, who rushed in from Amritsar early in the morning, was supervising the investigations. Although no casualties were reported, the police took no chances and sounded the alert.

The police have recovered a car from the city outskirts. “The car was stolen from Harchowal falling in Sri Hargobindpur on October 28. Apparently, the accused used the car in the crime. It was bearing a fake registration plate. Investigations are on,” said a senior officer.

The city was turned into a fortress with police teams being deputed at strategic locations. The ammunition dump in Mamun Cantonment too was secured.

SSP Surendra Lamba and his team of officers reached the site within 30 minutes and ordered the setting up of a dozen check posts throughout Pathankot district.

The attack occurred 500 yards from the outer wall of the high-security Air Force Station. On January 2, 2016, four Jaish-e-Mohammed militants had laid siege to the air base. A 48-hour gun battle followed in which all terrorists were killed. Before making their way into the base, the terrorists had kidnapped SP Salwinder Singh.

Six months earlier, three Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists had walked into the Dinanagar police station, 20 km from the air base, from Bamiyal village near the International Border. An eight-hour gun battle followed in which seven persons, including the three infiltrators, were killed.

SSP Lamba said CCTV footage of Triveni Dwar, the site of the attack, was being examined. Located on the periphery of the camp, it serves as the gateway. Minutes after the explosion, checking on the busy Jammu-Pathankot national highway was intensified, as also on the highway leading to Gurdaspur and Amritsar.

In neighbouring Gurdaspur district, too, the police stepped up vigil.

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