Jaish militants may have crossed over, say Punjab police

Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Pathankot, November 15

The Punjab Police have warned that six to seven Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants may have crossed into Punjab near Ferozepur and could be on their way to Delhi, even as the Pathankot police are still groping in the dark over the whereabouts of the four persons who stole an Innova cab near Madhopur on Wednesday.

The DGP (Intelligence) has written to all police commissioners and SSPs on the matter. “All supervisory field officers, including IGPs/DIGs of ranges and police commissioners are advised to personally involve themselves in the planning and implementation of preventive and precautionary measures in their respective jurisdictions to avoid any untoward incident,” the communique reads.

It stresses the need to strengthen the second line of defence along the India-Pakistan border and close coordination with the BSF. “There is a need to mount immediate special nakas at all important routes and points, conduct strict vehicular checking and take suitable counter-measures,” the letter adds.

The border police districts of Batala, Pathankot and Gurdaspur on Thursday fortified the second line of defence in areas close to the international border (IB), including Dera Baba Nanak, Dorangla, Dinanagar, Gurdaspur and Bamial.

Gurdaspur SSP Swarandeep Singh and his Batala counterpart Opinderjit Singh Ghuman camped throughout the day near the border. Pathankot SSP Vivek Sheel Soni rushed to Jammu, where he met senior police officers. He also visited the site near the railway station where the accused had hired the cab.

Bullet-proof vehicles have been moved closer to the IB. Meetings are being held among Punjab Police, BSF, the Army and IAF officials. Video recordings from CCTV cameras installed at various points on the Jammu-Pathankot highway are being examined.

Soni said, “The police have obtained the photographs of the four carjackers. The photographs, culled from CCTV footage, are not sharp enough. We have engaged professionals for help. In all probability, we will be sharing these with the public on Friday. We are following certain leads to trace the accused. Hopefully, we will crack the case in a day or so,” he added.

Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, IG (Border), said the owner of the hotel where the accused had dined before snatching the Innova had been questioned for the second time. Innova driver Raj Kumar continues to be in the custody of the Pathankot police.

In Ferozepur, a coordination meeting was held between various security agencies. Senior police officers said special security measures were being taken. The Railway Protection Force increased surveillance and security in and around railway stations.

(With inputs from Ferozepur)