Around 300 terrorists are waiting across the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) for an opportunity to infiltrate into India, prompting the Army to strengthen its anti-insurgency security grid. The terrorists have been spotted moving in batches from place to place along the LoC, apparently in search of vulnerable spots from where they could infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Ministry sources said here today.

The attempt was to push in as many terrorists as possible before the onset of winter when snowfall will make the mountainous terrains impregnable, the sources said. “The next two months are crucial,” they said, expecting a jump in the infiltration attempts.

In the recent times, there have been a number of attempts at infiltration, many times accompanied by firing from across the LoC to provide cover to such bids. Security forces have killed at least 25 terrorists while foiling these infiltration attempts last month and these encounters took place at points along the LoC. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in an address to a conference of state police chiefs on Tuesday, had termed as worrisome secessionists and militant groups in Kashmir making common cause with “outside elements” and noted that infiltration across the LoC was going up.

An Indian soldier collects the remains of a rocket at the site of a blast at Dhoni khurd village in the Wagah sector of the India-Pakistan border, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Amritsar, India, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Indian officials said Saturday three rockets fired from Pakistan had landed near the border villages of Dhoni Khurd and Modey in India’s Punjab state. The rockets fired late Friday fell in empty fields and did not cause any damage. Pakistan’s border security forces rejected the contention.

Lashkar-e-Taiba has emerged as the main suspect behind the Friday night’s rocket fire into Indian villages from Pakistan side after Pak Rangers claimed their troops had no role in the incident.

Four rockets had smashed into villages in Punjab, shattering the late night calm as they exploded in the fields and triggered a major scare. The attack had forced BSF — perhaps for the first time — to retaliate with machine gun and mortar fire.

The BSF has lodged a strong protest with Pak Rangers and sounded an alert along the border late Friday night soon after the attack. The attack came the same day BSF deployed its first women contingent along the international border in the Punjab sector.

There was no damage or casualty on the Indian side, BSF inspector-general Himmat Singh said. The 107 mm rockets landed about 2 km inside the Indian side at Modhey, Rattan Kalan, Dalkae and Dhoneya Khurd villages, near Attari.

In July, Pakistani security forces had seized a cache of arms, including 107 mm rockets — the kind used on Friday — from the arrested LeT men at Dera Gazhi Khan.

Following the rocket attack, BSF retaliated with machine guns and mortar shells from Pul Kanjari, Attari. The IG said this was perhaps the first such retaliatory action by BSF in this sector.

The BSF described the projectiles as 107mm rockets with a range of 8 km. The BSF said it didn’t have these kind of rockets.

India on Tuesday accused Pakistan of not being serious in punishing the culprits of the Mumbai terror attack and said even the terror infrastructure which facilitated such attacks was intact.

“Pakistan is not serious about prosecuting and punishing those responsible for perpetrating the Mumbai attack. They are still in Pakistani soil,” he told a press conference when asked to comment about the kind of response by Pakistan to the dossiers given by India.

Chidambaram also said the terror infrastructure that helped attacks like the one in Mumbai to be carried out, was intact across the border.

A key witness of the November 26, 2008 terror attack on Mumbai, in which more than 160 people lost their lives and more than 300 were injured, is being reported as missing.

According to a television channel report, Nuruddin Mehboob Shaikh was called for questioning by Mumbai police, but when he did not turn up, he was declared missing. He has been reported missing since 6.30 a.m. this morning and was to be cross-examined in court.

Shaikh has emerged as a key witness in the wake of him saying that he had seen the maps of Mumbai prepared by terror suspect Fahim Ansari.

Shaikh, a Mumbai driver, claimed to know Ansari and has admitted that he was in his room in Nepal, and witnessed to many an incriminating episode there. He deposed before the special sessions court on Thursday.

 A suspected terrorist today opened fire at the railway station here killing a vendor and injuring two GRP head constables when they tried to check his luggage, police said.

The firing took place when the two Government Railway Police constables of the Narcotics cell tried to check the bag of the suspected terrorist in Jammu-bound Jhelum Express which arrived here from Pune around 3.30 am at platform No 4 of the railway station, they said.

The suspected terrorist identified as Balbir Singh Bhootna immediately got down and hid himself under a compartment of the Jhelum Express and opened fir at the police which retaliated on the platform near the compartment.

A woman, who was accompanying the suspected terrorist, has also been taken into custody, Singh said.

The man killed, a vendor, tried to overpower the armed man and was killed. Two policemen were also injured in the encounter. The vendor’s body has been taken to a mortuary, while the injured policemen were taken to CMC Hospital.

There was commotion and chaos all around as the armed man took shelter behind a train at the platform. The trouble began when the police tried to question him. The man took out his revolver and started firing.

Sources said the man, Balbir Singh was around 40 years old and a proclaimed offender wanted in several cases. Police were also trying to ascertain whether he had a history from the days of militancy in Punjab.

At the station, the Jhelum Express was stalled for a while, but the incident did not impact the movement of other trains. The Jhelum Express too has left the station since