Pathankot: High alert after input on armed men in army fatigue

Pathankot, (PTI) High alert was sounded in

Pathankot today following inputs about suspicious movement of

armed men in army uniform with Punjab Police launching a

massive search operation near army base area located along

side Pathankot-Dalhousie road.

Following the input, the search operation was launched at

a massive scale in around 4-5 km area near army cantonment

along side Dalhousie road, police said.

Searches were also conducted near Chakki river, police

said. Himachal Pradesh police was also alerted about the

suspicious movement which also conducted search in their area,

police said.

However, the search operation which went on for five

hours, was suspended during night with police saying it will

resume tomorrow.

Around 400 security personnel including SWAT team and

three SP-rank officers were deployed for conducting the search

operation by the Punjab police in the district where terrorist

from across the border had struck the IAF airbase in January.

"There was a specific input about the presence of some

suspicious men carrying arms in army uniform near Pathankot-

Dalhousie road," Pathankot SSP Rakesh Kaushal said.

"Area had been cordoned off on Pathankot-Dalhousie

road to locate suspects," he said.

Army has also been alerted and there is a heightened

vigil, police said.

Punjab Police and BSF had jointly carried out search

operation and flag march in villages near Indo-Pak border on

September 25 to thwart any attempt by intruders coming from

across the border.

An alert was also sounded in the border districts of

Pathankot and Gurdaspur in the wake of terror strike on an

army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir.

Notably, terrorists from across the border had attacked

Pathankot air base on the intervening night of January 1-2

while Dinanagar in Gurdaspur was targeted on July 27 last

year.

The Pathankot attack had claimed the lives of seven

security personnel while four terrorists were killed.

Three heavily-armed terrorists wearing army fatigues,

had stormed a police station in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur

district last year killing seven persons, including a

Superintendent of Police, before they were gunned down during

a day-long operation