New Delhi: The Ujjain train blast, which led to the Thakurganj encounter in Lucknow, probably marks the first attack by the dreaded terror outfit Islamic State in India, involving local recruits radicalised from within the country.
A suspected Islamic State operative was killed in the wee hours of Wednesday after an 11-hour-long anti-terror operation conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) commandos.
The security officials involved in the operation made their best efforts to persuade the suspect, who was holed up in a house in Haji colony of Thakurganj area, to surrender but in vain.
After the initial exchange for fire, the ATS commandos lobbed chilly bombs inside the house to incapacitate him, but to no avail. Police teams bored a hole in the roof and blew up the back wall of the building to enter the house.
Senior police officials were camping at the site to oversee the operation, which was also being monitored by the Union Home Ministry.
Initially, it was suspected that there were two IS operatives inside the house but that turned out to be a false alarm as police found the body of only one. One pistol and a revolver was found in possession of Saifullah, the terror suspect who was killed.
The blast on the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train spurred the Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh police to launch coordinated operations in the two states.
Following the Lucknow gunfight, an alert has been sounded at the Lucknow International Airport and at prominent railway stations across the state.
Police and intelligence officials have been directed to step up vigil and keep a close watch on busy thoroughfares, malls and markets.