Several teams formed to nab Pathankot car snatchers: Police

Four persons, who had snatched an SUV from its driver at gunpoint near Madhopur in Punjab's Pathankot district, continue to evade police.

The incident took place Tuesday night when the driver stopped the car after one of the passengers complained of vomiting.

We are on the job to nab them, a senior Punjab Police official said Thursday.

Several teams have been formed to crack the case, police said, adding that personnel in border districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala, Amritsar (Rural) and Tarn Taran have been asked to remain alert and maintain vigil.

The instructions were issued as in 2016, terrorists, who had launched attacks on the Pathankot Air base, had snatched a Punjab Police officer's car to get to the air base.

The suspects, who were speaking in Punjabi, had booked the car from the Jammu taxi stand.

The Punjab Police is coordinating with the Jammu and Kashmir Police to trace the suspects.

Several checkpoints have been set up in border areas and on highways, and vehicles are also being thoroughly checked, police said.

Photos of the suspects procured from CCTV footage have also been given to the checkpoints, the police official said.

Terror angle could not be ruled out till they are caught, the official said.

The official said the vehicle's driver, Raj Kumar, a resident of Jammu, has told police that he did not see the weapon, he was threatened with.

Commissioners and district police chiefs in Punjab have been put on alert following an input claiming that a group of six to seven JeM terrorists were reportedly in Punjab, possibly in Ferozepur area and they were planning to move to Delhi, officials said.

Officers have been asked to put up check points at all the important points and routes and conduct strict vehicle checking, they said.