Alert in Gurdaspur after reports of 'suspicious movement'; Army launches search operation

Gurdaspur: An alert was sounded on Wednesday in Gurdaspur district of Punjab and a search operation launched in a village after locals reported sighting of two men in army uniform moving in suspicious manner, police said.

Some villagers reported that they had seen two men in army fatigues in Tibri, which is a cantonment area. Police immediately reported the matter to the Army and a joint search operation was launched, said SSP Gurpreet Singh.

There were also reports that five terrorists had sneaked into the border area of Gurdaspur and Pathankot, following which army formations have been put on alert, officials said. Gurdaspur was targeted by Pakistani terrorists in July last year also when they struck at a police station.

Punjab had been put on maximum alert while security measures were also tightened in neighbouring Haryana and the common capital Chandigarh, and in Himachal Pradesh, sources said.

Seven military personnel were martyred at the Pathankot air force base in an attack by six terrorists from Pakistan. All six terrorists were neutralised. The operations at the Pathankot base ended today.

Earlier on Wednesday, Defence minister Manohar Parrikar and the three service chiefs met national security adviser Ajit Doval at South Block in New Delhi where the Pathankot terror strike was discussed. Measures to strengthen security at vital defence installations and the situation on the borders with Pakistan are also understood to have been discussed.