Indian man crashes car into Wagah-Attari border gate

Published November 16, 2015
The crash left the gate at Atari "badly damaged" while the Wagah gate was partly damaged. —DawnNews screengrab
The crash left the gate at Atari "badly damaged" while the Wagah gate was partly damaged. —DawnNews screengrab
The crash left the gate at Atari "badly damaged" while the Wagah gate was partly damaged. —DawnNews screengrab
The crash left the gate at Atari "badly damaged" while the Wagah gate was partly damaged. —DawnNews screengrab
The vehicle came to a stop after crashing into the Pakistani side of the border gate. —DawnNews screengrab
The vehicle came to a stop after crashing into the Pakistani side of the border gate. —DawnNews screengrab

LAHORE: A speeding sports utility vehicle (SUV), driven by an Indian man, crashed into the Wagah-Attari border gate early on Monday.

The Indian citizen breached security on the Indian side of the border, reportedly crashing a check post and reached zero point of the border. The vehicle came to a stop after ramming into the Pakistani side of the border gate.

The incident raised caution among border officials, and led to the Punjab Rangers writing a letter to the Border Security Forces (BSF) seeking an inquiry into the breach of security, official sources said.

The crash left the gate at Attari "badly damaged" while the Wagah gate was partially damaged, witnesses at the site said.

The driver was arrested by BSF officials while his car was confiscated by Pakistani officials after it entered Pakistani territory, sources said.

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The vehicle was returned upon request of the BSF, they added.

The Non-resident Indian (NRI), from Canada, was allegedly drunk when he drove his SUV into the gate at Attari, crossed the Zero Line, and crashed into the gate at the Pakistani side.

The incident comes days after Punjab Rangers had offered sweets and exchanged greetings with their Indian counterparts at Wagah border to mark the Hindu festival of Diwali — in resumption of the customary exchange of good wishes suspended for the last many months due to tensions between the two neighbouring states.

Security was beefed up at the border after a devastating suicide attack at the entrance of the Wagah border parade venue killed 60 people and left more than 110 injured in November last year.

Two militant organisations — outlawed Jundullah and TTP-affiliated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar — had claimed responsibility for the attack.

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