CHANDIGARH: In a terror attack, gunmen wearing army uniform today early morning went on a rampage attacking a bus, a health centre and a police station, leaving five people, including a policeman, dead and several injured in Dinanagar in Gurdaspur district of Punjab bordering Jammu and Kashmir.
The army along with Punjab Police has launched an operation against the militants numbering about five who are holed up in residential complex of Dinanagar police station as they have taken families of police personnel as hostage.
The assailants also threw grenades. The gunmen have taken control of the police station entirely.
The mayhem started at about 5 AM when the attackers first targeted a roadside eatery (Dhaba) and took off with the Alto car of the owner after killing him who was sleeping near Dinanagar bypass.
Then they opened fire on a moving bus, in which four passengers were injured. They also targeted a community health centre adjacent Dinanagar police station, in which a policeman and three civilians including a woman who were present in the premises were killed. Three deceased have bene identified they are
Gulam Rasool, Asha Rani and Amarjeet Singh they have come to the health centre for their check-up.
The gunmen entered the Dinanagar police station and opened fire on policemen there in which five policemen were seriously injured.
They then targeted other part of the building where the families of police personnel reside. Terrorists also targeted the Kiran hospital.
Heavy firing is still continuing from both sides. The army is using helicopters for assistance.
Meanwhile Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had called emergency meeting of senior officials at Amritsar. In the morning Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Badal on phone. Badal is campaigning in Amritsar and monitoring the situation.
Five live bombs were also found on a railway track between Amritsar and Pathankot at Dinanagar, the railway traffic was stopped at these tracks and police is doing the combing operation. These bombs are also suspected to be linked with this attack on police station, said police sources.