Gurdaspur Operation ends, all terrorists killed

At least 11 people have been killed in the attack which include  5 policemen and 3 civilians, reports said.

The gun battle between the terrorists and security forces was held for nearly 12 hours on Monday. The terrorists were holed up in Dinanagar police station.

The police personnel killed in the encounter includes the Superintendent of Police of Gurdaspur district.

Reports said more than 300 soldiers were backing up the operation to flush out the terrorists, that was carried out by Punjab police and a team of Swat police from Jammu and Kashmir. The elite National Security Guard or NSG was on standby.

The gang was believed to have sneaked into the Indian territory through the India-Pakistan border in Jammu.

They travelled to Gurdaspur in a hijacked white Maruti 800.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier in the day said he instructed the  Border Security Force (BSF) to 'step up vigil on the India-Pakistan border' in the wake of attack in Gurudaspur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari also present in the meeting.

All trains on the Gurdaspur track have been stopped. Bomb squad was at the spot after recovery of few live bombs on railway tracks.

The Home Minister  earlier convened a meeting of all top officers relating to internal security including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Union Home Secretary LC Goyal among others to discuss the Gurudaspur attack.

He spoke to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who apprised him of the developing situation in Gurudaspur.

Soon after, the Home Minister tweeted saying, "the MHA is monitoring the situation in Gurudaspur and Punjab. I am confident that the situation will be soon brought in control."

The terrorists in army fatigue reportedly crossed the border at Hiranagar in Jammu and entered Punjab in a white Maruti 800 they hijacked.

Before they attacked the police station at about 5.45 am, the terrorists opened fire at a Punjab Roadways bus. Seven people are said to be injured in the attacks so far.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal rushed the state Director General of Police to the spot, the state government said.  It said the Chief Minister was closeted with advisors and was "keeping close minute to minute watch on the situation."

Badal, apparently blaming the Union government, said the terrorists were not from Punjab, but had come from  the border. "It's the Centre's job to seal the border," he said.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the attack in Punjab was eerily similar to attacks in the border belt of Jammu.

"Will be very interested to see what emerges about the identity of the terrorists involved in the Gurdaspur attack this morning,"  Abdullah tweeted after terrorists stormed a police station in Punjab's Dinanagar town.

"The timing of the attack, methodology and location are all eerily similar to attacks in the border belt of Jammu," he said in another tweet.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Gurdaspur terror attacks, demanding to know "what happened after Modi-Nawaz Sharif meeting" in Russia's Ufa.

Senior Congress MP Anand Sharma said in the Lok Sabha :"Terror attack in Punjab is a matter of concern. India must give a fitting reply so that such incidents are not repeated."

Members of opposition demand statement from the government on the ongoing Gurdaspur encounter.

Earlier, Union Minister Venkiah Naidu informed the members about the incident: "There is an important incident happened in Gurdaspur. The encounter is on. The government will make a statement when it is over. The Central government is in talks with the Punjab government. I would request all opposition parties not to do politics on this and stand unitedly in this hour," he said.