‘Suspicious’ men in Pathankot: Cops expand search, IAF choppers take sorties

Some army fatigues were found near the airbase, fuelling apprehension over the presence of some intruders.

A day after a manhunt was launched for some suspicious persons, who were reportedly spotted in army fatigues near the local airbase, the Punjab Police on Wednesday expanded their search operation to Himachal Pradesh, seeking help from their neighbouring state counterparts. It was called off by the night.

Police men during a search operation in Pathankot on Tuesday after a high alert was sounded following inputs about suspicious movement of some people.(PTI Photo)

“We have called off search operation as nothing suspicious has been found,” Pathankot SSP Rakesh Kaushal said. Earlier, some army fatigues were found near the airbase, fuelling apprehension over the presence of some intruders.

Read | ‘Suspicious’ persons sighted: Alert in Pathankot, search launched

Indian Air Force’s low-flying choppers equipped with sophisticated thermal sensors took out sorties over the Chakki river area after a woman reported having seen some suspicious people to the police.

There are several installations like the airbase, an ammunition depot, the Ranjit Sagar Dam and some army establishments in and around the city.

[Report updated after operations called off.]