As stated by one news report, the militants, numbering at least three to four, slipped into Gurdaspur from Kashmir after infiltrating from Pakistan.
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They opened fire on passengers of a moving Punjab roadways bus before targeting a community health centre adjacent to Dinanagar police station.
Security forces made up of both police and army commandos then staged a siege at the police station in the small town of Dinanagar, finally overcoming the attackers.
The assault only ended at around 5pm when security forces finally entered the police station where the unidentified gunmen had been holed up.
The terrorists have killed six persons- three civilians and three policemen including Superintendent of Police (Detective), Baljit Singh, a Punjab provincial service officer, police said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his top ministers have not made detailed statements on the attack, which is likely to raise tensions with Pakistan if it is proven to have originated across the border.
India Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he had ordered for a tightening of security on the border with Pakistan on Monday following the attack, according to local reports.
Bomb squad was at the spot after recovery of few live bombs on railway tracks.
Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said there have been reports earlier also of infiltration from Pakistan and “cross-border mischief” in this “vulnerable” zone.
The Home Ministry said that an alert has been sounded along the border with Pakistan.
About seven more people have been injured in the attack and an AFP reporter at the scene said fierce firing could still be heard around the police station, bringing panicked residents out onto the streets. “They could be home-grown militants”, he told Reuters by telephone.
Meanwhile Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Salahuddin denied his men were involved in the attack.
It said the media coverage should be restricted to periodic briefing by an officer designated by the appropriate government till such operation concludes.
The police station at Dinanagar is near Punjab’s border with neighboring Jammu and Kashmir state, and the worldwide border with Pakistan, about 480 kilometers northwest of New Delhi.
“There is no information on this side to show support of Khalistan movement”, he said.
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Punjab has experienced Sikh separatist violence in the past – particularly during the 1980s and early 90s, when militant groups fought for an independent Sikh-homeland.
