Spoke in Punjabi dialect, posed as Army men, the mystery behind the missing Innova

Pathankot, Nov 15: In an incident that brought back memories of the Pathankot attack, a vehicle was snatched from a cab driver at gun point. The security officials are not ruling out a terror angle.

Six teams have been formed to crack the case and Inspector General (Border) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar said that a search had been launched to nab the accused persons.

The police say that the four persons had conducted a recce before hiring the cab and even paid an advance of Rs 3,550. These persons hired the cab in the name of Major Sarvjeet Singh. The cab was Pathankot bound. It may be recalled that in 2016, the Pathankot air base was attacked by terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammad after they had robbed a cab at gun point.

After robbing the silver coloured Innova bearing the registration number JK 02 AW-0922 they stopped at Kathua for dinner. At the Lakhanpur toll post, the four occupants told the staff that they were from the Army and hence exempted from paying toll tax. The police say that they even asked the toll booth operator, why he had not checked their ID, if these persons claimed they were from the Army.

The driver, Raj Kumar told the police that the four persons were speaking in Punjabi dialect, which is spoken in Pakistan's Punjab.

The police say during the questioning of the driver, they were unable to get much information as he kept changing his statement. He will continue to be questioned for more leads.

While a terror angle is not being ruled out, the police in Jammu and Kashmir say that this could be the handiwork of some mischief mongers. All possibilities are being explored, an officer from J&K informed OneIndia.

Meanwhile a high alert has been sounded in Pathankot as the leads suggest that the four men were bound to this place. The Army and Air Force authorities have been informed about the incident. Security around the Army ammunition dump in the Mamun cantonment has been stepped up following the incident.