At least three Kashmiri youth were detained by Punjab Police at Pathankot after they were deboarded from a train, media reports from Punjab said. Some reports even put the number at six.
Reports appearing in media suggest that the detentions followed the reports from Jammu and Kashmir Police.
A Jammu newspaper quoted IGP Jammu SDS Jamwal saying: “On specific inputs, the operation was launched and the suspects detained by Punjab Police.” From Kathua, the nearest district to Pathankot, a police team has been sent.
Punjab Police’s IGP for the border region S S Parmer has told newspapers that they have detained three persons who were travelling in an express train headed towards Delhi. The detentions were based on “suspicion”. The trio who were not identified is being questioned.
“Three men from Jammu and Kashmir have been detained at Pathankot for verification of their antecedents,” Parmar was quoted saying. They were travelling from Jammu in Pooja Express.
ANI quoted Palvinder Singh, Government Railway Police’s (GRP) Assistant Sub-Inspector saying that six persons have been detained for interrogation from Pathankot Railway Station on the basis of suspicion.
But there are two stories in circulation. One report says the detentions took place two days after some militants were reported in Saidapur village near Pathankot, which the residents reported to the police. The police later recovered a car that belonged to Jammu.
However, a Jammu newspaper claimed that police chased the train for four hours and detained three “militants” who were on way to Ajmer. This, they said, was the outcome of specific information. They had been in Jammu moving on a bike on basis of which they traced the owner and other details.
“By the time, police located their location, the Pooja Express had crossed Kathua,” the newspaper reported. “The train was halted near Chakki Bank Station and trio detained. The entire operation was coordinated by sleuths of Special Operation Group, Kathua Police and Punjab Police.”
