CHANDIGARH: Two Punjab Police personnel who were on duty at a checkpoint near the Indo-Pak international border were found shot dead under mysterious circumstances.
Sources said that Assistant Sub Inspector ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard jawan Ashok Kumar, who were on duty in Adian village under Dorangala police station in Gurdaspur district were shot dead by unknown assailants late at night.
The bodies were discovered inside the room, which serves as an outpost.
It remains unclear whether they shot each other or if a third person was involved.
A local discovered the bodies in the morning at the checkpoint. The bodies were promptly shifted to Gurdaspur Civil Hospital for a postmortem examination.
Deputy Inspector General (Border) Sandeep Goel, Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Aditya, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajinder Manhas and other officers rushed to the spot.
Talking with TNIE, Goel said, "We are investigating all angles of how both of them were killed and accordingly action will be taken, if at all anyone is involved in the case, one will be dealt with. The forensics teams have examined the spot.’’
Senior Superintendent of Police of Gurdaspur Aditya said, "In the morning, we received information that two of our personnel had sustained gunshot injuries. The police have cordoned off the crime scene, with both technical and forensic teams present there, ‘’ he added.
Sources said the possible involvement of gangsters or terror elements was also being examined, and an alert has been sounded in the border areas.
Initial reports suggested that the two policemen may have entered into an argument, following which shots were fired. Responding to reports suggesting that the two policemen may have shot each other following a dispute, a police officer, on condition of anonymity said that the probe was still at a preliminary stage and no conclusions had been drawn so far.
The Border Security Force (BSF) had adopted Adhian village as a ‘Vibrant Village’.
The Dorangla sector is frequently targeted by Pakistan-based state and non-state actors to push in drones carrying drugs, arms and ammunition, said sources and added that the BSF maintains a strong presence in the area, which is known for its vulnerability to cross-border smuggling of heroin, weapons and drone intrusions.
These outposts, maintained by the Punjab Police in close coordination with the Border Security Force, act as the second line of defence.
The area where the incident occurred lies about 2 km from the Indo-Pak border.