Two militants, two cops killed in Punjab border shootout

GURDASPUR - Two militants and two Punjab policemen were killed in a fierce gun battle early Sunday near the India-Pakistan border in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, police said. The state government has announced relief for the killed cops’ families.

Punjab Police officials said that both militants were gunned down after a police patrol in the border belt in the Bhamial sector spotted them early Sunday morning.

“So far we have not ascertained the identity of the militants. Our investigation is on and all senior police officials are here since morning and supervising the search operation and our investigation,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Karam Singh told IANS.

The incident took place near Norat Jaimal Singh area of Gurdaspur. The area is close to Punjab’s border with Jammu and Kashmir.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal announced a relief of Rs.10 lakh each for the kin of head constable Narinder Singh and constable Surinder Singh who were killed in the gun battle Sunday.

In a statement issued here, Badal described the cops as martyrs and said: “One dependent member each of the family of the deceased would be given a government job as per eligibility.”

“Families of these police personnel would continue to get the full regular salary of the deceased till the scheduled date of their retirement,” announced Harcharan Bains, Badal’s media advisor.

“In addition, the families would also been entitled for the post-retirement benefits including full pension, gratuity and other benefits,” he said.

The Border Security Force (BSF), which mans the 553-km-long fenced border between India and Pakistan in Punjab, has also intensified patrolling in the light of the incident.

“We had already tightened the noose in the area since the rocket attacks in Bhamial sector a few days ago. A search operation is on and we are providing outer cordon to the local police,” Jagir Singh, deputy inspector general of Punjab range BSF, told IANS Sunday.

The Bhamial sector is the same area where rockets were fired from the Pakistan side and over 10 metres of the barbed wire fencing inside the Indian territory was blown up near the international border April 19.

Incidents of rockets being fired from the Pakistan side and gun fire are increasing in the Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab in recent months. Such incidents took place in July and September last year (Attari border belt in Amritsar district) and again in January (Attari border) and in Gurdaspur’s Bhamial sector this year.