Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 3: The Border Security Force (BSF) has chalked out a proposal to protect the villagers of Chechwal in Samba sector even as civil and police administration today allayed gears of the border people that they wouldn’t be able to carry out harvesting of their crops in forward areas. The BSF today also lodged a strong protest in writing with the Rangers along with pictorial evidence on direct firing opened by them on the civilians on Monday injuring a couple.
DIG BSF JS Oberoi said a very strong protest has been lodged in writing with the Rangers for their act of cowardice in firing at the civilians at Chalariyan in Chechwal area of Samba sector on Monday afternoon in which a couple was seriously injured while working in their field.
“We have provided pictorial evidence to the Rangers of their unprovoked firing on the farmers working in the fields’’, Mr Oberoi said.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Commanding Officer (CO) of 9 BSF Vijay Paul Singh has written a strong worded letter to the Rangers over their act of firing on the civilians on Monday afternoon when they were engaged in cultivation of their land in forward areas.
The CO has also submitted pictorial and other evidence of the firing, they said, adding the BSF has preferred written protest over the flag meeting as this included concrete evidence of firing along with picture of injured couple and other proof.
“The written evidence was submitted by the BSF to the Rangers today. The response of the Rangers was awaited’’, sources said.
Meanwhile, amidst panic and fears among the border villagers of Chechwal and surrounding areas after firing by the Rangers on the civilians, Deputy Commissioner Samba, Mubarak Singh and SSP Samba Israr Khan besides CO BSF 9 battalion Vijay Paul Singh today had a long inter-action with the people in the village and assured them full protection.
Mr Singh said the civil administration assured the villagers that they would expeditiously release compensation for acquiring land of the villagers for construction of protection bund at Chechwal. He added that the bund would protect the civilians from Pakistani firing.
Describing fears of the villagers on Pakistan firing as “genuine’’, the Deputy Commissioner Samba said the villagers were of the view that there would be no harvesting if there was any fresh round of firing from Pakistan side.
On the demand of some of the villagers for allotment of 5 marlas land to each family, Mubarak Singh said the demand has practical problems. Construction of protection bund was the only solution for them, he added and assured compensation to the villagers very expeditiously for the land being acquired for the construction purposes.
Chechwal had come into limelight after a farmer had detected the land having caved in at three straight points leading towards Pakistan on July 27. Thus led to detection of an underground tunnel constructed by Pakistan about 540 meters inside Chechwal. The tunnel between border fencing to Zero Line was being uncovered by the BSF using men and machinery.
Sources said Pakistan firing was aimed at stalling the work of BSF to uncover the tunnel, which has been dug from Pakistan side.
This was after the long time that the Rangers had opened firing directly on the civilians leaving a couple injured including SPO Kulwant Singh and his wife.
SSP Samba Israr Khan assured the civilians that a proposal for regularization of the injured SPO would be submitted to the Police Headquarters.
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