Hijacking of Innova
Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Nov 15: As high alert has already been sounded in two bordering districts of Kathua and Pathankot of Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab states following the hijacking of an Innova Taxi baring registration number JK02AW-0922) yesterday at Madhvpur on gunpoint by four youth, the SSP Pathankot along with a police team visited the Lakhanpur and questioned the dhaba owner where the hijackers had taken the dinner late last night. They also checked the CCTV footage at Lakhanpur Toll post which the vehicle crossed late last night to get any clue about the hijackers.
Besides, raking was also done in the Ravi river belt by an army chopper to maintain the complete surveillance of the border belt in the river basin touching neighboring Pakistan in Bamiyal area which has been an infiltration route in past.
Sources said chopper made three -four sorties in the sky today to maintain a constant vigil in the border belt of Bamyal area also. The security agencies apprehend that the terrorists may not have hijacked the vehicle for transportation of infiltrators who might have sneaked this side from across the border as was done during the attack on Army Base Camp at Pathankot over two years back when the vehicle of Gurdaspur SSP was also hijacked.
Reports said that besides questioning of Dhaba owner Jagpreet Singh who is also from Punjab by the SSP Pathankot , Vivek Soni and his team also checked the CCTV footage at Toll Post, Lakhanpur which the car crossed during last night.
The dhaba owner informed the police that all the four persons came to his dhaba who were wearing jeans and took dinner. They made payment and they were looking as normal people and there was no weapon with them. They left the dhaba after taking the dinner and nothing seemed suspicious to him, he added.
The driver of Innova who was accompanying the police team was also questioned by the police who said that he was inside the vehicle when the hijackers went to dhaba for taking meals.
The hijackers did not pay toll at Lakhanpur, Toll Post as they posed as army personnel was revealed by driver and Toll Post officials. No Toll tax is being deducted at T P Lakhanpur from the vehicles carrying army personnel.
As per drivers statement on reaching Madhavpur, he paid Toll of the vehicle for entering the another State as a routine and every thing was normal till then. After they left Madhavpur TP and reached just over half a km ahead, one of the hijackers asked the driver to stop the vehicle as he was feeling vomiting, he stated.
The driver said that as he tried to park the vehicle on the roadside the hijackers dragged him out on gun point and said they are sparing his life and he should not reveal this to any one. Later they hijacked the vehicle and fled, he added.
The driver returned to Toll Post Madhavpur informed the entire story to officials there who contacted the police at the same time which registered the FIR and started investigation.
The SHO Lakhanpur, Sushil Kumar also rendered full cooperation to the Punjab Police team in the investigating the matter.
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