All four terrorists, who were reportedly in CRPF uniform, fled.

The attack took place around 2.30 am today when a group of jawans were warming themselves in the chill, huddled around a bonfire at the main gate of the centre which sprawls across 150 acres.

Armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades, the attackers reached the sentry post along the Delhi-Lucknow railway line — the tracks serve as a boundary between the CRPF centre and the road next to it — and killed four paramilitary personnel and a rickshaw-puller, Inspector General (Operations) of CRPF A P Maheshwari said.

After this first attack, the attackers hurled a grenade at the main gate and fired indiscriminately, he said, adding that the terrorists possibly wanted to sneak into the camp’s armoury next door.

The Quick Reaction Team of the recruitment centre hit back forcing three of them to flee. One, however, managed to enter the administrative block of the centre where he killed three unarmed CRPF men, Maheshwari said. CRPF personnel fired at the lone militant who also escaped.

The CRPF personnel killed were identified as Afzal Ahmed, Anand Kumar, Ramji Sharan, Manbir Singh, Devinder Kumar, Vikas Saini and Rishikesh Sahai.

“The Kashi Vishwanath train, which passes at around 2.20 am, had left and I was lying in the cabin when suddenly I heard a rapid burst of gunfire. There was the sound of crackers earlier but this was gunfire,” said Kailash, the railway gateman posted at the cabin.

Kailash said he was scared and could think of “nothing else but to escape through a window into the adjoining thicket.” However, the jawans, who were posted there were easy targets — several bullet marks on the railway cabin and blood stains on the road showed how little resistance was offered. Police officials said one of the intruders could have “perched himself in the cabin” and provided cover for the others to sneak through the gate.

Intermittent firing was heard later in the day as state police, assisted by the CRPF, conducted combing operations in the area surrounded by sugarcane plantations.

Five security personnel — three CRPF jawans and one each from state police and home guards — were injured in the gunbattle. Two militants were injured in the exchange of fire, said Inspector-General of Police, Bareilly zone, Gurbachan Lal.

Within hours of the attack, the state-Centre blame game began. In a hurriedly called press conference at which Chief Minister Mayawati and state police DGP Bikram Singh were present, Mayawati said that the CRPF was to blame.

“There were inputs that there was the possibility of a terror attack and all the information had been passed on to CRPF. Even at a recent meeting, security was reviewed and CRPF asked for two things. They wanted increased patrolling and asked us to ensure that the main gate not be used as a thoroughfare. We accepted both the demands. The CRPF jawans were, however, unprepared and were warming themselves by the fire. The militants managed to sneak in and hurl a grenade which killed two more men. After that, they even managed to fire in two control rooms and killed more jawans,” said Lal.

“It seems that no one was posted at the guarding post, guards were sleeping in the guardroom. There was absolutely no resistance and our Special Operations Group kept on hunting for the injured fidayeen but no one has been found till now,” Lal added, as CM Mayawati looked on.

Refusing to accept the attack as her government’s failure, she claimed the state government had acted in accordance with the intelligence input about the threat perception to the CRPF camp and had also alerted officials of the CRPF camp and “failure, if any, is on their part”.

Asked how did terrorists reach the camp, the Chief Minister said it was the duty of the CRPF, who had already been informed of the threat, “to teach them (terrorists) a lesson”.

But a senior CRPF official said the alert was of a “general nature” which might have been circulated in the aftermath of the November 23 serial blasts in Faizabad, Lucknow and Varanasi courts.

The CM later announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured after giving a clean chit to her own officials. “Had the CRPF been alert the incident would not have taken place,” she said.

Minister of State for Shri Prakash Jaiswal later admitted that “lapses occurred only because precautions were not being taken” and added that “action, steps can only be taken after the initial investigation.”

Meanwhile, the Rampur police detained two men. Ikram and Arif claimed they were only locals who gathered after the news of the attack spread. “Their behaviour was suspect and they seemed to be taking an undue interest in the proceedings,” said a police official.