Two militants killed, Punjab on high alert

Punjab has been put on high alert after two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter on Sunday, raising fears that there might be more militants around.

Two policemen also died in the encounter that lasted three hours in Bamial sector of Gurdaspur district along the Indo-Pak border. Police recovered two AK-47 rifles, eight grenades and 700 rounds of fire.

The encounter with the heavily-armed militants took place early in the morning after villagers told police that “two persons dressed like commandos were inquiring about the region”.

This was the first militant-police gun battle in Punjab in the past 15 years.

Bamial sector in Gurdaspur has Punjab, J&K and Pakistan on its three sides. A group of LeT militants had reportedly intruded the region on April 19 and had also fired at a BSF post. Police believe the intruders were heading towards Jammu and Kashmir when they were intercepted.