By IANS
Lucknow : Seven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and a civilian were gunned down by two terrorists early Tuesday at a CRPF base in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur town, the police said.
The masked gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles sneaked into the CRPF Group Centre located off the Grand Trunk Road on the outskirts of Rampur, about 300 km from here, around 3 a.m., Inspector General of Police Gurbachan Lal told IANS.
They are believed to have first gunned down the sentry before barging into the nearest tent and opening fire from their assault rifles.
Five CRPF troopers, a police constable and a Home Guard were also injured.
Both attackers fled as the troopers fired back. Lal said that at least one of them had probably been shot in the leg because he was seen limping away.
The civilian who died was reported to be a rickshaw puller. He was hit by bullets fired by the militants while they were escaping from the CRPF base.
Lal said the injured men were taken to Moradabad town for treatment. Their condition was reported to be stable.
Lal said a public road that ran through the CRPF base had been closed after terrorist attacks in various courts in Uttar Pradesh in November.
“However, the possibility of the terrorists using this route to escape cannot be ruled out,” he said.
Uttar Pradesh principal home secretary J.N. Chamber described the incident as a “serious warning”.
He said: “This is the first time in this state that a terrorist gang has dared to storm a police camp in this manner.”
Commandos of the Special Task Force (STF) have been rushed from Lucknow while CRPF personnel and intelligence sleuths have fanned out in the area to nab the militants. The police have cordoned off the area.
“We will not allow them to get away with this. I am confident that my boys will track down the culprits who are obviously associated with some Islamic militant group,” Chamber told IANS.