Pathankot on alert after suspicious men in fatigues spotted
THE MAN SAYS AFTER GIVING THEM LIFT, HE GREW SUSPICIOUS OF THE TWO; HE TOLD HIS RELATIVE SITTING NEXT TO HIM ABOUT THIS AND THEY DECIDED TO RUN AWAY, SAY POLICE
PATHANKOT: Security forces launched a search operation in the Bamyal sector of Pathankot district along the India-pakistan border after a man belonging to the Gujjar community claimed to have spotted two suspicious people in army fatigues on Sunday.
The incident took place in the same area where four Pakistani terrorists had snatched the car of Punjab superintendent of police (SP) Salwinder Singh and later stormed the Pathankot airbase in January 2016, killing seven security personnel before being gunned down.
The complainant, Maskin Ali, said the two men stopped his car when he was going from Bamyal village to Fatehpur and asked him for a lift.
Ali said he grew suspicious of the two men when one of them was speaking on the phone as the car was moving.
“I asked my relative to run as soon as I apply brakes to the car, which we did. The two men tried to catch hold of me but I managed to run away and then called the police control room (PCR),” Maskin said.
The control room alerted Pathankot senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vivek Sheel Soni who rushed to the spot and deployed forces in the area after he found Maskin’s statement credible.
The police found the abandoned car which was brought to the Narot Jaimal Singh police station where experts were examining it.
SSP Vivek Sheel Soni said, “I personally questioned the man and it appears that he is not lying. Police teams are searching the area and we have sealed the Punjab and J&K border where every vehicle is being checked.”
Besides Pathankot, police in Gurdaspur and Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua have increased vigil in their areas.