A policeman was shot at and injured in Jammu region's Kathua district on Monday.
A senior police official told IANS: "Unidentified gunmen fired at policeman Jagdish near Shaheedi Chowk in Kathua town today morning."
The assailants were in a car that bore Punjab registration number.
A massive manhunt has been launched.
The injured policeman was rushed to district hospital in Kathua town, was later shifted to Government Medical College in Jammu City as his condition turned critical.
The official said the assailants were most probably smugglers who refused to stop the car when the policeman signalled them.
"They abandoned the car some distance away and fled on a motorcycle," the official said.
