An SUV evaded a security checkpoint on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district early Friday, prompting police to open fire at it, officials said.
The driver subsequently abandoned the vehicle and fled, they said.
The incident took place around 3.30 am when the SUV was travelling from Srinagar towards Jammu. Police personnel deployed at the Chanderkote security checkpoint signalled the vehicle to stop, but the driver sped away, they said.
Officials said police fired three rounds of fire at the fleeing vehicle in an attempt to intercept it, but it continued towards the Nashri area, prompting a massive search operation involving the district police, the CRPF and the Army.
“The district police have seized the suspicious Scorpio near Dalwas, and further investigation is underway. Detailed information will be shared after the investigation progresses,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Arun Gupta, said.
Security forces have intensified searches in the area, while investigators are probing the circumstances under which the vehicle evaded the security checkpoint and the motive behind the incident, officials said.