New Delhi, Aug. 11 :     Pakistan fired a Stinger missile at an Indian Air Force helicopter carrying journalists to the crash site of the intruder Atlantique plane on a day when defence forces on both sides of the strained border were put on red alert. The Indian chopper returned safely to the Naliya airbase in south Gujarat, but the incident heightened military and diplomatic tension between the nuclear neighbours. Pakistan?s military spokesman Brig. Rashid Quereshi denied the missile attack on the helicopter carrying journalists, but said his forces fired on two MiG-21s escorting choppers near the crash site. ??It was clear that the Indians were picking up small pieces of wreckage in Pakistan and taking them back to Delhi to fool the world that the aircraft crashed in their area,?? he said. Brig. Quereshi said a surface-to-air missile was fired, but gave no further details. Delhi scoffed at Pakistan?s claim. An air force spokesman said it would not have been possible for the Indians to salvage any part of the wreckage if the aircraft was lying on the Pakistani side. He admitted, however, that some parts of the plane may have landed across the border as it was travelling at around 600 km per hour. Amid intense air activity along the frontier, the navies of the two countries were stretched in the Arabian Sea. Radars on both sides were trying to locate every movement in the vicinity of the international border. With wreckage of the Atlantique strewn on either side of the border near the Rann of Kutch, both countries stepped up efforts to score diplomatic points. The Pakistanis, who had pipped the Indians yesterday by carrying a Reuters crew to the spot, were outsmarted today. India flew 40 journalists to the crash site in three choppers. But the journalists had to leave the area without a proper look. A flash from the western side of the border and plumes of smoke frightened the chopper pilots, who were responsible for the safety of the journalists, and they flew back without a clear sight of the debris strewn across the marshy terrain close to Kori Creek. Throughout the day, the rumour mills worked overtime and the directorate-general of military operations in Delhi was flooded with requests for confirmation of hearsay. The buzz was that the air force, still seething from losing two fighter jets and an Mi-17 helicopter during the Kargil war, had grabbed the opportunity provided by the straying Pakistani plane. The air force, however, denied it had been overzealous in guarding its boundaries and had not flashed the necessary warning signals before shooting down the Atlantique. Spokesman Group Captain D.N. Ganesh reiterated that after refusing to be escorted out of Indian territory, the Pakistani aircraft was asked to land at a base in Gujarat but it refused. Afraid of losing the diplomatic points it won during the Kargil conflict, Delhi went into an overdrive to justify the downing of the aircraft. Parts of the Atlantique?s wreckage, including identity cards of the Pakistani airmen on board, were on display at the Prime Minister?s Office. What has raised eyebrows is the lack of evidence that airmen died in the clash. Neither side has been able to produce bodies of the crew. Pakistan says 16 people were on board the plane. The documents recovered include a flight manual for Pakistani navy pilots and the checklist of the aircraft besides personal documents of Syed Sarasat of 29 Air-Borne Surveillance Warning Squadron. Other parts salvaged include a wing, cable, hydraulic system and cockpit of the aircraft besides a parachute and an inflatable dinghy. After an emergency session of the Cabinet Committee on Security, the Prime Minister summoned a meeting of Opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi. While the borders were taut, in Jammu and Kashmir, militants blew up an army vehicle in yet another daring raid and shot dead four BSF personnel. The conflict continued in Siachen as troops foiled attempts by Pakistani soldiers to wrest two positions.