Sunday, December 21, 2025
    ADVT 
    National

    Terrorist Attack in Punjab's Gurdaspur district, Gunmen in Army Uniform Attack Police Station

    Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Jul, 2015 07:44 PM
      At least five people were killed and 10 injured when heavily-armed terrorists wearing army fatigues hijacked a car, drove down to this town in Punjab's Gurdaspur district, peppered the bus stand with bullets and then stormed a police station -- shattering two decades of calm in the state.
       
      Authorities said that five people were killed in the terror attack, while unconfirmed reports said the toll may be higher.
       
      "So far reports of five deaths including three civilians and two police personnel confirmed from Gurudaspur. Operation is still on," tweeted Press Information Bureau in Delhi.
       
      Three home guard personnel who were inside the police station were among those feared killed. Other victims were civilians, including a person inside an adjoining hospital.
       
      Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that he had spoken to director general of Border Security Force (BSF) D.K. Pathak and instructed him to step up the vigil on India-Pakistan border in the wake of attack in Gurdaspur.
       
      Special forces of the army and NSG as well as police commandos took up position around the Dinanagar police station. 
       
      This was the first major terror attack in Punjab following the assassination of then chief minister Beant Singh on August 31, 1995. 
       
      Monday's attack began at 5.30 a.m. at Dinanagar town in Punjab's frontier district of Gurdaspur, close to the India-Pakistan border and near the border with Jammu and Kashmir state.
       
       
      A gun battle raged between the terrorists, holed up inside the Dinanagar police station, and security forces, including soldiers. Continuous sound of firing and lobbying of grenades could be heard even hours after the first shots were fired by the militants.
       
      The police station, adjoining government hospital, residential quarters inside the police station and nearby private houses were quickly cordoned off by security forces.
       
      Minister of state for home Kirren Rijiju told IANS in Delhi that "as of now there is no information regarding hostages being held. We are looking into it and once I get some more information, I will come out with it". 
       
      The terrorists, numbering four, are believed to have come from Pakistan. They arrived in a Maruti 800 car which they had hijacked after firing at the driver and killing a person in a dhaba nearby. They also fired at people near the Dinanagar bus stand and then attacked the Dinanagar police station, located about 100 metres away.
       
      Eyewitnesses said the terrorists fired on a bus going towards Jammu and later entered the police station.
       
      "We were hit by a burst of gunfire suddenly. I was hit on the shoulder. They are firing indiscriminately every five minutes," a Punjab police official, who was injured in the attack, told media as he was being taken to the hospital.
       
       
      The town is about 15 km from the India-Pakistan border and 25 km from the border of Jammu and Kashmir state. It is about 235 km from Chandigarh.
       
      Additional Director-General of Punjab Police, Dinkar Gupta, told media the "attack took the Dinanagar police by surprised". 
       
      Army and police reinforcements were rushed to the spot.
       
      Punjab Police sources said the incident indicated may be a suicide attack.
       
      The attack took place just a day after Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal faced pro-Khalistan slogans while attending a function at Punjab University in Patiala.
       
      In a related development, five live bombs were found on the Amritsar-Pathankot railway track.
       
      The bombs were found by passersby on a bridge near Parmanand railway station on the Amritsar-Pathankot railway section, who informed security forces. Trains on the route were stopped immediately.
       
       
      A major railway tragedy was averted as the bombs were carefully wired to the railway track at a small bridge near Parmanand railway station, five km from Dinanagar. A police spokesman told media that the army bomb disposal unit had defused the bombs.
       
      A train, which was to pass on the railway track, was stopped just 200 metres from the spot where the bombs had been planted.
       

      UPDATES:

      Police reinforcements were rushed to the spot and a counter-offensive by security forces was initiated.
      Prev Next

      MORE National ARTICLES

      Ontario Sending Firefighters And Equipment To Fight Wildfires In B.C.

      Ontario Sending Firefighters And Equipment To Fight Wildfires In B.C.
      Big hills and bigger mountains are the most significant differences confronting a team of Ontario firefighters as they prepare to start work in British Columbia.

      Ontario Sending Firefighters And Equipment To Fight Wildfires In B.C.

      Developer Sees Potential To Engage Young People In Upcoming Federal Election

      Developer Sees Potential To Engage Young People In Upcoming Federal Election
      OTTAWA — A Concordia University student is hoping to help reverse the voter apathy trend among young people across Canada in advance of the expected fall federal election.

      Developer Sees Potential To Engage Young People In Upcoming Federal Election

      Smoke From Pan Am Games Fireworks Has Torontonians Fearing CN Tower Was Burning

      Smoke From Pan Am Games Fireworks Has Torontonians Fearing CN Tower Was Burning
      Social media exploded Thursday night with reports that the CN Tower in Toronto was ablaze. Photographs posted on Twitter showed smoke pouring from the observation deck of the tower.

      Smoke From Pan Am Games Fireworks Has Torontonians Fearing CN Tower Was Burning

      Sidewalk Tribute To Dead Raccoon In Downtown Toronto Makes International Headlines

      Sidewalk Tribute To Dead Raccoon In Downtown Toronto Makes International Headlines
      A dead raccoon that was left for hours on a sidewalk in the heart of downtown Toronto prompted a makeshift memorial and a flurry of tweets, an outpouring that caught the attention of media beyond Canada's borders. 

      Sidewalk Tribute To Dead Raccoon In Downtown Toronto Makes International Headlines

      Expensive Stolen Boat Found Dumped By Thieves After Brazen Kelowna Theft

      Expensive Stolen Boat Found Dumped By Thieves After Brazen Kelowna Theft
      KELOWNA, B.C. — A unique and pricey speed boat stolen from a British Columbia boat dealership has been found, high and dry in an Alberta field.

      Expensive Stolen Boat Found Dumped By Thieves After Brazen Kelowna Theft

      Education Minister Peter Fassbender Talks About The Future Of Education In B.C. And Punjabi Language

      Education Minister Peter Fassbender Talks About The Future Of Education In B.C. And Punjabi Language
      At a recent media roundtable, Minister of Education, Peter Fassbender spoke and discussed about the future of education in British Columbia.

      Education Minister Peter Fassbender Talks About The Future Of Education In B.C. And Punjabi Language

      PrevNext