Gurdaspur terror attack: Terrorists shoot at 16-year-old wrestler before heading to police station

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“It was about 5.20 am when we heard gun shots and there were about 30 trainees at the academy. Soon, an injured Tarun came into the academy with his shoulder bleeding profusely and we put him in a car and rushed towards Gurdaspur. Later in the car he told us about the terrorists and it was his swift action of picking his cycle and running which eventually saved him,” said wrestling coach Akash Verma, who works at Gopi Sports Academy.

Tarun, whose father had worked in the Army, instantly recognised that the camouflaged dress wore by the terrorists did not look like anything worn by army personnel.

The Academy is situated just 500 m from the Dinanagar Police Station and has 30-35 trainees present since 5 a.m at the academy. The players believe that the terrorists could have targeted them after seeing Tarun in his wrestling kit.

Verma, with the help of basketball coach Pankaj Bhanot, took the youngster to Gurdaspur in his car.

“He joined the academy four months ago. When we first saw him bleeding, we were in a shock and we rushed to the car. The young trainees were also scared and luckily we followed the road leading to Gurdaspur. Our academy is at a distance of 500 m from the police station. Had we taken the road towards Dinanagar which crosses the Police Station, we could have stopped by the militants. Tarun was lucky to escape or they could have asked about the other academy trainees,” said Bhanot, who is also a resident of Gurdaspur.