Terrorists wearing army uniforms opened fire at a bus and attacked a police station in Dinanagar town in Punjab's Gurdaspur district early on Monday, killing two civilians and leaving at least four others injured.
Unconfirmed reports, however, put the death toll at eight.
A group of three to four attackers came in a white Maruti car after hijacking it from the Old Pathankot-Gurdaspur road and opened fire at the police station around 5.30am.
India tightened security on its border with Pakistan after the attack. Home minister Rajnath Singh ordered the Border Security Force to assist police in Gurdaspur.
Map courtesy: Google Maps
The incident took place 11km away from Gurdaspur city — close to the India-Pakistan border — and 80km away from Amritsar.
Television footage showed the white Maruti car with its windshield peppered with bullet holes, and broken glass and bullet casings on the passenger seat.
Car reportedly used by gunmen who attacked a police station in Dina Nagar in Gurdaspur, Punjab. (Photo credit: @ani_news)
Four passengers of the bus attacked by the terrorists were injured and hospitalised, SSP Gurdaspur Gurpreet Singh said.
The attackers then entered the Dinanagar police station and opened fire at policemen. The gunfight later moved quarters near the police station.
Five live bombs were recovered from the Pathankot-Gurdaspur railway track, police said.
Bombs recovered from the railway tracks. (ANI Photo)
The home minister spoke to Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the Gurdaspur siege.
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Rajnath Singh✔@BJPRajnathSingh
Spoke to DG BSF Shri DK Pathak and instructed him to step up the vigil on India-Pakistan border in the wake of attack in Gurudaspur
8:30 PM - 26 Jul 2015
"The MHA is monitoring the situation in Gurdaspur and Punjab," he posted on Twitter. He said he was hopeful that the situation will be soon brought under control.
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Omar Abdullah✔@abdullah_omar
Will be very interested to see what emerges about the identity of the terrorists involved in the Gurdaspur attack this morning 1/2
7:58 PM - 26 Jul 2015
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Omar Abdullah✔@abdullah_omar
The timing of the attack, methodology & location are all eerily similar to attacks in the border belt of Jammu 2/2
7:58 PM - 26 Jul 2015
Army commandos and a Quick Response Team (QRT) were called in to tackle the situation.
India observed the Kargil Diwas on Sunday to salute its soldiers who fought against Pakistani troops and guerrillas who sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir in 1999.
The incident comes weeks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif spoke for about an hour during a summit in Russia, raising hopes of an improvement in perennially difficult relations.
