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2015 Gurdaspur attack was a terror attack on 27 July 2015 in which three gunmen dressed in army uniforms opened fire on a bus, and then attacked the Dina Nagar police station in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India. The attack resulted in the death of three civilians and four policemen, including a superintendent of police; 15 others were injured. Five bombs were also found planted on the Amritsar–Pathankot line on a rail-bridge near Parmanand railway station, five kilometers from the site of attack. All three attackers were killed in the operation that lasted almost 12 hours.

It was a rare militant attack in Punjab since the end, in the mid-1990s, of the Punjab insurgency over the formation of an independent Sikh nation of Khalistan. However such attacks are common in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that borders Gurdaspur, and from where the gunmen were at first suspected to have entered, where Islamic insurgents are seeking independence or accession to Pakistan. The defence ministry of India claims, using the GPS system found possessed by the terrorists, that the terrorists entered India through Pakistan.

Attack

The attack took place in Dina Nagar, Gurdaspur district of Punjab on the morning of 27 July 2015. The attackers first targeted a roadside eatery and took off in a Maruti 800 car with Punjab registration number. They shot dead a roadside vendor near Dinanagar bypass.

At around 5:30 am, they opened fire on a Punjab Roadways bus coming from Jammu and Kashmir. The bus had 75 passengers, several of whom were injured. The bus driver Nanak Chand drove the bus towards them, forcing them to move back. He then swerved the bus and drove it straight to a government hospital, where the injured passengers were treated.

After firing indiscriminately near the bus stand, the gunmen stopped a Maruti 800 at gunpoint, shot the driver and sped towards the Dina Nagar police station. The attackers targeted a community health centre adjacent to Dinanagar police station, killing three civilians including a woman and a policeman.The gunmen then entered the Dinanagar police station and opened fire in which five policemen were seriously injured.

The first response was led by Punjab Police SP (Detective) Baljeet Singh, which lead to the death of one of the gunmen. SP Baljeet Singh later died in the gunbattle. The Indian Army and the NSG also responded to the attack, however, the Punjab Police maintained the lead on the counter-terrorism operation and assigned support roles to the Army and the NSG. The 28 Man group from the Punjab Police SWAT Team continued to lead the attack and the last militant was killed several hours after it began. News Agencies have pointed out that the attack could have been ended quickly as the gunmen were hole up in an abandoned building and operation was prolonged due to an unsuccessful attempt at capturing at least one gunman alive, until it was clear that none of the gunmen intended on being captured.

This was the first counter-terrorism operation conducted by the Punjab Police SWAT Team and its success has been widely praised.

According to police, the terrorists were Muslims and were heard shouting Allah hu Akbar during siege, contradicting the initial reports that the attack was carried out by Sikh separatists.

Bombs on the railway track

Meanwhile, a railway trackman named Ashwani Saini while patrolling along the railway track between Dinanagar and Jhakholari railway stations spotted five bombs wired to a small bridge on the Amritsar-Pathankot line. The bombs were detected just before a passenger train was about to cross the bridge; the train stopped 200 metres from the bombs. The railway authorities suspended all the rail traffic on the section, before the bomb-disposal squads defused the bombs. As per MHA sources, 2 x GPS, 3 x AK-47, 10 x magazines and 2 x China-made grenades were recovered from the terrorists.

Aftermath

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs alleged that the attacks were carried out by the Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

See also

• List of terrorist incidents in India
• List of terrorist incidents in Punjab (India)
• List of terrorist incidents, 2015

References

1. "Army on standby as Punjab Police tackle terrorists".
2. "Gurdaspur Attack: Encounter ends; 3 civilians, 4 policemen dead". The Hindu. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
3. Tribune News Service (27 July 2015). "Terror attack in Gurdaspur; SP among seven killed". The Tribune. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
4. "Pakistan condemns Gurdaspur Attack in India". Fitrak News. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
5. Barry, Ellen (27 July 2015). "Gunmen in India Kill at Least 5 in Attack on Bus and Police Station". New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
6. "Punjab Terror Attack (Gurdaspur ) – Terrorists Stormed Police Station and Bus". Tidings Today. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
7. ^ "Gurdaspur attack: How Punjab Police bravely battled terror". Daily O. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
8. "Suspected terrorists attack bus, police station in Punjab's Gurdaspur". India Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
9. ^ "Punjab terror attack: Bus driver saved many lives". The Times of India. 27 July 2015.
10. "Gurdaspur terror attack: One terrorist killed, another injured; Punjab SP (Detective) martyred". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
11. "Martyred SP Baljit Singh's father too died in a terror attack". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
12. http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html
13. http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/gurdaspur-attack-punjab-police-swat-team-bang-on-target/article1-1374194.aspx
14. http://www.dailyo.in/politics/gurdaspur-terror-attack-punjab-police-force-ss-saini-pakistan/story/1/5272.html
15. http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html
16. http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/gurdaspur-attack-punjab-police-swat-team-bang-on-target/article1-1374194.aspx
17. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gurdaspur-dinanagar-terror-attack-punjab-dgp-terrorists-alive/1/454369.html
18. http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/baptism-by-fire-for-punjab-s-elite-swat/112272.html
19. http://www.dailyo.in/politics/gurdaspur-terror-attack-punjab-police-force-ss-saini-pakistan/story/1/5272.html
20. "Gunmen who carried out Punjab attack were Muslim - police".
21. "Terrorists in Gurdaspur Attack Were Muslim: Police".
22. "Gurdaspur attackers heard shouting Islamic slogans during siege".
23. "Terrorists in Gurdaspur Attack Were Muslim: Police". Retrieved 2015-08-01.
24. Courageous railway trackman saves 270 lives
25. "Terrorist attack in Punjab, Terror attack in Punjab, Terror attack in Punjab Gurdaspur district". The Times of India. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
26. "Updates: 'Gurdaspur operation planned well in advance', says Punjab Police - Oneindia". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 29 July 2015.

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