Car-jack in Pathankot again creates alert

A car was hijacked in Pathankot on Tuesday, again raising fears about a terrorist attack like in January. The car-jack occurred on the Pathankot-Jammu highway as a car driver was shown the thumb-up seeking a lift. As the car stopped, the lift seeker pointed a gun at him, pulled the driver out of the car and along with two other associates rode away in the car at 7 p.m. The incident put the security agencies on high alert, and they put up checkposts all around. It maybe a prank, but the security agencies have taken it seriously and are investigating. If it is a civilian car, it could be a law and order incident. Last time, however, the Superintendent of Police, Salwinder Singh, gave away his car to the terrorists and ensured they reached Pathankot airbase in the early hours. The National Investigation Agency, however, failed to establish the complicity of the SP despite lie-detector tests on him. The SP was known to be a `colourful character' against the backdrop of many key officials in border areas falling for false honey trap set by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.