Punjab Police put on alert after input on militant movement
Chandigarh: The Punjab Police is on alert after its counter-intelligence wing on Thursday informed that six to seven Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants are “planning to move towards Delhi” from the state.
Police commissioners and district police chiefs have been put on alert following the input, according to a letter issued by the Punjab Inspector General of Police (Counter Intelligence) office.
The letter stated that “according to an input, a group of 6-7 JeM suspects are reportedly in Punjab, India (possibly in Ferozepur area) and are planning to move towards Delhi from Punjab side.”
The letter has been sent to all police officials in Punjab. They have been asked to set up checkpoints at all important routes, conduct strict vehicle inspection and take suitable counter measures for all sensitive locations, it stated.
The letter stated that police areas along the India-Pakistan border have been asked to coordinate with the Border Security Force (BSF).
The officers have been advised to plan and implement precautionary measures to thwart any untoward incident, it said.
Meanwhile, four people, who had snatched an SUV from its driver at gunpoint near Madhopur in Punjab’s Pathankot district, remain at large, even as police did not rule out a terror angle.
The snatching incident took place Tuesday night when the driver stopped the car after one of the passengers complained of vomiting.
We are on the job to nab them and a terror angle cannot not be ruled out till they are caught,” a senior Punjab Police official said.
Several teams have been formed to crack the snatching case, police said, adding that personnel in border districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala, Amritsar (Rural) and Tarn Taran have been asked to remain alert and maintain vigil.
The Punjab Police is coordinating with the Jammu and Kashmir Police to trace the suspects. Several checkpoints have been set up in border areas and on highways, and vehicles are also being thoroughly checked, police said.
Officials in Jammu said a team led by a DSP-rank officer of the Punjab Police reached here Thursday in connection with the car snatching case
Police in Punjab are maintaining vigil as in 2016, terrorists, who had launched attacks on the Pathankot Air base, had snatched a Punjab Police officer’s car to get to the air base.
Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek SheelSoni said, “We have certain clues and we are working on them to trace the accused (in the snatching case).
The suspects, who were speaking in Punjabi, had booked the car from the Jammu taxi stand.
Photos of the suspects from CCTV footage have also been given to personnel at the checkpoints, the official said.
The official said the vehicle’s driver, Raj Kumar, a resident of Jammu, has told police that he did not see the weapon, he was threatened with.
Police also said the accused had dinner at a dhaba in Jammu where they had also entered into a fight with its owner.
Officials in Jammu said the team examined CCTV footage and also questioned taxi operators at the stand. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
