Suspicious men sighted in Pathankot, search operation underway

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police along with other security agencies began a massive search operation in some areas of Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts on Wednesday after four to six suspicious men were sighted in the area.

The joint search operation is still underway.

The search operation was launched hours after some unidentified men travelling in a Scorpio SUV broke a police barrier in the Gurdaspur district on Tuesday. 

A Punjab Police officer was quoted as saying by IANS that there were at least six persons inside the vehicle when it jumped the barrier. 

The SUV was later found abandoned, the report said.

The SUV also carried a fake registration number plate and, after primary investigation, it was found that the car was stolen at knife-point from a person in Vijaynagar area of Jammu.

Security agencies remained on high alert in border districts of Gurdaspur and Pathankot following the terrorist attacks on the Pathankot Air Force base in January 2016 and in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district in July 2015.

Both districts share an international border with Pakistan. Both districts are close to the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir.