A massive search operation is underway after a car, with a Jammu and Kashmir registration, was found abandoned in Punjab's Pathankot district on Thursday, officials said.
“Massive search operation underway following the recovery of an abandoned car and the reported suspicious movement of 4-5 people in the area,” police said.
Villagers of Bhagwal village, which is close to the border fencing on the India-Pakistan international border, have reportedly told the police that 4-5 people came near the village in a speeding Alto car on Wednesday night.
The villagers tried to stop the car but its occupants sped away towards the agricultural fields and then fled on foot, leaving the black Maruti Alto car behind, they said.
Some villagers said that shots were fired as the suspicious people tried to escape towards the border fencing.
Security agencies, including the Punjab Police, para-military forces and Army, sounded an alert in the border belt of Pathankot in North Punjab following the incident.
The Punjab Police and other security agencies were carrying out searches in the area, police officers said.
Pathankot district police chief Rakesh Kaushal said that the car was found abandoned near Bhagwal village. The vehicle was searched but nothing much was found from it.
Terrorists from Pakistan have infiltrated through this area earlier. The terror attack on the Pathankot airbase on January 2, was carried out by terrorists who are believed to have taken the same route to enter India.
