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Gunmen who carried out India's Punjab attack were Muslim: police
DINANAGAR: Three gunmen who fought a 12-hour battle on Monday near the Pakistan border were Muslim, the Punjab police chief said on Tuesday, contradicting speculation that the attack may have been carried out by Sikh separatists.
“The inspection of the bodies shows that the assailants were Muslims,” said Sumedh Singh Saini, director general of police in the northern state, speaking to reporters at the police station that came under attack.
Ten people, including four police, three civilians and the three militants, were killed in a prolonged battle that began early on Monday morning, the first of its kind in Indian Punjab in more than a decade.
Take a look: Gun battle at Indian Punjab police station ends, ten killed.
The attack bore the hallmarks of similar attacks in the neighbouring region of Jammu, which has seen more frequent operations by gunmen hitting security posts in recent years.
Saini did not elaborate why police concluded the gunmen were Muslim and declined to confirm whether or not they were from Pakistan, as some Indian security sources had suggested.
He said police had not yet identified the assailants, as they were not carrying any identifying papers or documents.
“They had even gone to the lengths of removing the identifying marks on their weapons,” Saini said.
Two GPS devices that police recovered inside the besieged station show a programmed route from the India-Pakistan border to the railway track where five explosives were found on Monday then on to the police station, Saini said, leading police to believe the same group planted the bombs and staged the gun battle.
Another policeman said the first entry in the GPS system was made on the Indian side of the border on July 21, several days before the attack.
On Monday, some analysts speculated the unusual attack could mark the reappearance of Sikh separatists who battled the Indian government in the 1980s, including the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at the hands of Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
But some police sources had said the militants entered from Pakistan two days ago a short distance to the north in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, where separatist guerrillas are seeking independence from India.
Pakistan issued a statement on Monday condemning the assault and extending condolences to the government and people of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his senior ministers have not made detailed statements on the attack, which came weeks after a meeting between Modi and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raised the prospect of a thaw in relations between the two nucelar-armed neighbours.
Comments (102) Closed
Let the matter be decided urgently between the two PMs of India and Pakistan under the UFA understanding.
Thousands of Kashmiris are missing, not difficult for police to stage this drama.
Yah blame it on Muslims, blame it on Pakistan, bla bla bla bla ... those people who put blames like this are from Modi's party Shiv Sina.
sure..blame Pakistan next..what's new.
Blame on Muslims; there you go Mr Modi; there you are to begin Muslim and Non-Muslims clashes in India
Similar claims were made at the time of the Samjotha Express tragedy.
They checked the dead bodies and confirmed that they were not sikhs. Great job Punjab police! Muslims can be Indian too or only good ones are Indians like Khans ? And the bad ones are only Pakistani ? Like Dawood Ibrahim or Yaqub Memon ? You guys do a lot of choose and pick !
This is the lull before storm. Modi has not spoken a word about this cowardly act.
Muslims only reside in Pakistan? I can see a deliberate struggle to link all such events to pakistan.
Wait for it - they will find Lifebouy soap, a bottle of Roah-Afza and packs of Supari which will clearly make them Pakistanis.
They must be visibly brainwashed.
So what was on the bodies that indicated they were muslims? Nonsense.
How is it that only 15 mins into the attack India can determine the attackers were from Pakistan? If they're so smart and their intelligence so sharp why can't they stop these attacks from taking place in the first place?
Anyways loss of life is a loss of life, highly condemnable however or whoever did it!
Well planned response from India... next they will show Pakistan passports in their pockets as shown in other incidents.
if that's true then so what... we had lot of Taliban imams in swat and waziristan area during 2011 , those who were not circumcised ... found out after they were killed by Pakistan Army ...during Same Examination which this police had............
Typical Indian amateurish investigation. They may have even substituted the bodies. We dont trust these hindus in India.
They were homegrown Sikhs from Amritsar, I betcha.
Its ironic that Indians know so much about where they came from, who they were, when then arrived, it has the hallmarks of a staged event.
This is utterly nonsense. India is fighting six (6) insurgencies within its borders.
Terrorists have no religion. Muslim means mussellam eemaan. Everybody who is truthful and honest to his own religion and never hurt anybody be it by speech gesture or by physical harm is the Muslim. These rats can not be called Muslim.
Ever since Modi government got into power, these false flag attacks and blame game has touched a new high.
Terrorists have no religion. Their only religion is terrorism. Whether they are Muslims or sheikhs really irrelivent .. Only relivent thing is to ensure the security of the people.. India is a poor country so they need time to develop this..
This blame game will further detiriorate the situation. I am sure Modi is an intelligent person and he will solve this problem wisely.
@Forex firstly this is said by Punjab Police chief who belongs to Indian state of Punjab where Congress is in Power not Modi or his party BJP, and this he said after inspecting the bodies which I believe must be : circumcisio, body features etc, which made him conclude that they were Muslims.
Trying all kinds of drama, but nothing seems to be working..
@Kuldip Singh (USA) I have the same question. How do you tell a persons faith from a body?
The only thing I can think of is circumcision. But even that is not conclusive on any way. They could be Christians, Jews or Maoists.
arent Indian christians are circumcised ?
“The inspection of the bodies shows that the assailants were Muslims,”
Ridiculous! Ridiculous how can you identify assassins’ religion by examination of bodies...
@Khan- USA
One word "circumcision". Sikhs and Hindu's do not practice it.
@Changez_Khan Modi's party is not shiv sena, its BJP
I thought religion would not be government's concern in a purportedly secular country.
@Kuldip Singh (USA) The were circumcised ( thats what the report implicitly refers to)
Lots of silly comments about the police statement “The inspection of the bodies shows that the assailants were Muslims,”- premature, perhaps.
It is encouraging to note that "Pakistan issued a statement on Monday condemning the assault and extending condolences to the government and people of India". Lets hope for some interstate police cooperation for a change, to help advance this investigation and bring forward some forensic evidence before making erroneous conclusions.
@gaurav - I thought circumcision was universally popular not an exclusive domain of Muslims.
@Acho Billa - loved your comment. I wish someone can read it to Indian parliament.
@gaurav , muslims are not only living in Pakistan, am sure this much the police are aware of or not.
Seal and mine the border, seems to be the only solution to save both sides of border.
@farhan through circumcisions
Muslims are not terrorists.....but a terrorist can be a muslim Hindu Sikh Cristian Jew or anyone else......but we have to fight them.....
Total Rubbish
@gaurav and there are more Muslims living in India than in Pakistan; but my point was that since it is very easy to incite violence in India on the name of religion as seen in Gujrat etc, it wasn't wise for congress or BJP to give such statements of stating that they were Muslims just somehow to prove that they were Pakistanis
i am surprised that they were not wearing name tags like ie ajmal kasab, in case you dont know poor ajmal kasab was picked up from napal and Pakistani authrities request india to release him some time before the incident thats way despite appering that indian have 100% proof that it was Pakistan they could not do anything Alhumdulillah
Sorry to say Modi's govt is doing the same thing which Congress were doing there since Independence. Indian Muslims were understanding that Congress is a not communal party and they always supported congress to win. Gradually people and specially Indian Muslims realized that Congress is more dangerous that BJP. Every sincere group in India were understanding that now this blaming game is going to over after becoming Modi as PM. Because he is a strong personality. Now it seems that the Communal elements have over powered on Modi. Now it clearly seems that how he is strong. First they have started they have come from Pakistan and so many things without any proof. Now they are Muslim not clear Muslim from Pakistan, Muslim from India, Muslim from Bangladesh. If they are so competent why they could not control them entering to the border.
This has false flag written all over it, this is in reaction to the UN inspection of Indian aggression on the Pakistan side. India is trying to play the victim card, (this is a trait of the Israelis) with poor execution by Indian agencies.
@Sarwar, USA
good you already knew they are having pakistani passports in their pockets..
@Zubaida khan: They could be Christians, Jews or Maoists.
That's a new one. How many circumcised Maoists do you know?
This militancy has to stop. It is ruining the Peace between our countries. It creates so much hatred between the people of our two nations. It is such a shame that people who are responsible for all these acts are walking freely. Peace is such a powerful thing. We need to give it a chance. We are letting the haters and the extremists win.
@shah NO, they are not. Indian Jews are, though. So you believe that these were Indian jews?
@Kuldip Singh (USA) Yo said ... "So what was on the bodies that indicated they were muslims? Nonsense".
But there is a method behind this apparent madness. Law enforcement agencies in both countries typically resort to a simple visual inspection of a male person stripped below his waist to determine whether he is a Muslim or non-Muslim. Forensic analyses such as DNA testing are costly and time consuming, and can be undertaken if necessary in a court case. In the meantime, the visual inspection is considered adequate to determine which lines of investigation are promising. Needless to say, it is relatively easier for a non-Muslim to pretend to be a Muslim (which needs advance planning and time to heal), but hard for a Muslim to pretend to be a Hindu. Unfortunately, the same method has been used by communal rioters to decide the ethnicity of the intended male victim, when there are no obvious clues like a long unkempt beard or a tilak on the forehead.
@gaurav Why religion is in focus ? They could be misguided Indian Muslims , Right ? There are millions of Muslims in India . What evidence that they were from Pakistan ? Any passports, any admission by the Pakistan High Commission or the dead bodies saying that they are Pakistanis. It could be a cover up by the state police to save their own faith brothers.
The stupidest comment any government can give, when it does not want to tell the truth.
@Khan- USA Could be circumcised Hindus. Several Hindus in US are actually doing this and are eating beef.
@Raj How can you say that about 1 Billion people, have you personally checked each and everyone.
Pakistani government is no different either. They also have a tendency to blame foreign elements whenever a terrorist activity takes place here. Just pass on the blame on foreign hands to save their skin. So no surprise here.
Chill people. All they said is that they are Muslims probably because they were circumcised. They did not say they are Pakistani Muslims.
@shah Christians generally do not practice circumcision but jews do. I do not think there are that many jews left in India.
@Changez_Khan Modi is from BJP, no Shiv Sena LOL!
@shah Sikhs, Christians, hindus dont circumcise in India.
Indian muslim are patriots. The incident happened near border. We have GPS log to find out where they came from.
@gaurav just a little correction: akali dal is in power
@shah no
It's funny how all the Pakistani's commenting on this article are going on the defensive. Do I sense a guilty conscience? No top Indian official has come out and said that these terrorists were Pakistani. Just like Peshawar attacks were blamed on India by right wingers, you will have some people in India who will blame Pakistan.
@Changez_Khan Modi is not from any Shiva party, check your facts first
@shah , Christians do not circumcize. It is only Muslims and Jews who by religion have to circumcize.
Director general of police is a Sikh too, what do you expect from him? gun men were sikh
intelligence agencies have found that the GPS sets recovered from the slain terrorists were first fed with data on July 21 at Sargodha, a town 94 km from Faisalabad
from Times of India
Show the picture of their bodies showing faces clearly to Pakistani media for them to show all over Pakistan lets see if any one in Pakistan come forward to recognize them
So now they are proceeding systematically. How did they determine they were Muslims? How did they determine they were not local Sikhs? This Police Chief first gave a statement to get credibility. He said "we cannot speculate till investigations are complete and then suddenly he finds Muslims! They are really stupid.
The GPS box is being analysed in Delhi. The government has not made any official statement yet about who the attackers were and from where they came. Stay calm and wait for the Government of India to make a formal statement in Parliament after it has reviewed and analysed the evidence.
@AG Where is the connection between the two?
@czar And whats your point...
Police says the attackers snatched car from a shopkeeper. Police never gave details of snatching. Was this shopkeeper stopped while driving? Or he was followed by attackers on motorcycle, auto rickshaw or bicycle? No media person approached this owner of car and interviews him. If he is killed then details about him, who he was and where does he live? Attackers were using GPS then what transport they were using after entering India? Please give details of the owner of car and details of snatching incident. India media is also quiet on this important matter.
More important question is why? Pakistan can't be responsible for every single Muslim living in India and vice versa. India has a large population of Muslims Kashmir issue make it more complicated. India should treat such event as internal until proven other wise and focus on better security. They also need to stay out of Political games in Afghanistan and Pakistan if they really want to play a bigger role on international level. For years Pakistan and India have fought and wasted resources on Kashmir issues. Both sides need to open their eyes and mind and move forwards and resolve the Kashmir issues. We are only dragging ourselves into mud.
This news was not for Pakistani consumption, this was an Indian police officer speaking to Indian media and all Indians will believe what he says. No one requested Pakistani media or public to believe in what he said. There will be a different conference held and messages will be given to Pakistan at a different and appropriate forum.
@Pakistani wondering How come lots of bombing in Pakistan and elsewhere you can determine it was RAW.Same thing.My point being don't determine till you have some proof,applicable to both countries,instead both countries should cooperate and remove these kind of people(murderers) from both(all) the countries. Unfortunately many of these low life are being used by many governments and hence the people of all countries,who are the recipients,should collectively condemn it and stop this character assassination of nations rather than real culprits be it terrorists backed by some governments or sickos of any nationality.
@Shahin A. Hossain Good point.
@Kuldip Singh (USA) ... Muslims are circumcised while Sikhs don’t. common sense !
@Zubaida khan .. being an forensic expert , we can easily figure that out.
@Nisar ....yet they failed to intercept them with all the knowledge.
everyone knows there is a third power lives in both the countries to capture that power you dont need guns you need to love them, educate them and listen to them with out discrimination
first they came up with the idea of a spy pigeon now it's the dead ones termed Muslims or Pakistanis whatever. it looks like India is bent upon shifting all their burden of mega flops to Muslims and eventually Pakistan. but let me tell you it won't work.
Only an insane can issue such statement without any investigation and corroborating evidence and next he will say they were Pakistanis, and it is astonishing that the Army commandos were not allowed by the Police to conduct the operation had it been so the operation would have been over in two hours and saved some lives.
@gaurav Bewakuf There is SAD Govt in Panjab not Congress and they are partner in Central Govt where Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a Minister. Insane statement by Saini without any investigation.
People across border may argue on the nationality of terrorists. The Fact is few innocent people lost their lives ... for no reasons... AGAIN. RIP
@Kuldip Singh (USA) circumcision may be. Just a thought
@shah no
The police is saying what they have with them as the evidence for verification are taken over by central security forces.
One of the same old & age old statistic, strategy & hate mongering attitude by Indian authority. Muslims & Pakistanis are the only buttons they have to press. Is it difficult to kill three Muslims in cold blood & produce them as terrorists coming from Pakistan. A replay of the train burning game of Godhra. This is what can be expected from Modi government. Pakistan should take up this matter with UN security council to make an independent investigation if need be.
@Acho Billa lol
Let the Kashmiris have their right of plebiscite at the earliest and stop atrocities in Kashmir.
@just_smiplified Over 20% Male are born naturally circumcised .
@Kuldip Singh (USA) ...they were perhaps circumcised ?
@gaurav ..The Akalis are ruling Punjab and not the Congress or BJP.
@shah ...Indian Christians are never Circumcised unless advise medically.
@Changez_Khan Dude you dont even know that modi is not from shiv sena anyways he is not againts muslim as no daam prime minister can be its a secular country come and see there is nothing wrong in here i had 2 Kashmiri class mates during my mba and they told that they don't know about past but now there is nothing wrong in Kashmir apart from people who make trouble they face trouble. we make conclusion on what is told to us truth is something else
“The inspection of the bodies shows that the assailants were Muslims,”
Is it possible ??
Why not just say they were Indians ? That's how our sweet Indian friends think ; forever in denial. Blame Pakistan , blame Muslims. That's Modi-fied India.
India has a pretty huge Muslim population and this kind of attitude towards Muslims really would cause more problems !
Another flop boat like drama!
@Kuldip Singh (USA)
Examination of the male organ will distingush between Muslims and Sikhs ( and Hindus). It is obligatory on Muslims to be circumsized at young age while Sikhs and Hindus are not cicumsized.
(In addition to Muslims,only Jews are religiously required to be circumsized)
To all Indian friends who deny Indian Govt False Flag operations, please Google Satish Verma
@Admin, I don't understand why my comments are never piblished
Usual false flags by Indians. They are desperate to pin the blame on Pakistan for a home grown attack. Now wait for the dead body of an innocent Kashmiri or Indian muslim to be presented as proof.
Terrorism is slow poison which is eating pakistan. If this momentum continues no one will save pakistan from breaking. Please understand india is elephant now dont hit your head on it. your head will break. Please use india to help you grow.
It's easy to blame it on Pakistan. When Pakistan stopped blaming India and found the root cause of terrorism was ideology from Saudi Arabia, we went ahead and resolved the problem. So unless India stops the blame game, they won't resolve their problems either.