The terrorists were killed during a joint operation by Uttar Pradesh and Punjab police.

The accused, who have been gunned down, have been identified as Gurvinder Singh (25), Virender Singh (23) and Jaspreet Singh (18).

All three were the residents of Punjab's Gurdaspur.

They were accused of attacking a police post in Gurdaspur with a grenade.

When the cops tried to arrest the three, the accused had opened fire.

SP Pilibhit Avinash Pandey said as quoted by The Times of India, "A team of Punjab police approached SHO Puranpur police station and informed them that a few terrorists from Punjab who attacked a police outpost are hiding in the Puranpur area.

"Immediately, I was informed, and we started an intensive search operation and barricaded all the routes in the district."

Two rifles and the same number of Glock pistols have been recovered from the three, NDTV reported.