Intruder killed, another held as BSF foils infiltration bids

BSF jawans on high alert in Arnia sector on Tuesday. — Excelsior/Rakesh
BSF jawans on high alert in Arnia sector on Tuesday. — Excelsior/Rakesh

Drone droppings down, says IG BSF

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 22: The BSF foiled two infiltration bids along the International Border (IB) in Jammu frontier early today, killing an intruder and arresting another.
“At about 2.30 am today, alert BSF troops noticed suspicious movement of an intruder near the International Border in Arnia sector (of R S Pura area). The intruder crossed over to the Indian side from IB and started moving towards the fence”, Inspector General of BSF, Jammu Frontier, D K Boora told reporters at the force headquarters here.
He said troops warned the intruder many times not to move forward but he didn’t pay any heed and kept aggressively moving toward the fence.
“On this, BSF troops fired and neutralised the intruder and thwarted the infiltration attempt”, he said.
In the second incident, BSF troops observed suspicious movement along the IB in Indreshwar Nagar around 4.30 am.
“In this case, when the intruder tried to cross IB and came near the border fence, he was challenged. He raised his hands to surrender and was nabbed”, he said.
However, in the evening, the intruder was repatriated to Pakistani Rangers at a flag meeting on the IB.
Both incidents shows that attempts to engineer infiltration from across the border are on, he said.
“They keep trying to see whether terrorists can be penetrated through into Indian territory by sending guides from across the border…But we will not allow any infiltration to take place”, he said.
He said the BSF is committed to safeguard the borders and will defeat the designs of the enemy to commit terror activities in the country.
Boora said the BSF has put in place its winter strategy along the International Border (IB) on the Jammu frontier to foil cross-border infiltration and said the number of incidents of drone-dropping of weapons, explosives and narcotics from Pakistan has decreased in the last three-four months.
He said that the number of incidents of drone droppings from Pakistan has gone down substantially along the IB on the Jammu frontier.
“I will not be able to disclose to the media what measures have been taken in this regard, but several such measures have been taken,” he said.
The IG asserted that with the help of technology, the force will put an end to to this menace.
“The BSF is alert on the border…. Those involved in this have been arrested by police,” he said.
Asked whether militants would now focus on infiltrating through the IB in view of the snowfall along the Line of Control (LoC), Boora said, “It is a yearly affair. When the passes get closed due to snowfall, the focus moves towards the IB. We are fully prepared for this.”
He said the BSF is also prepared for the challenge posed by fog during winter.
“The way manpower has been developed on the border, along with security and surveillance gadgets, we are confident that we will not allow cross-border infiltration,” the IG said.
He also said an anti-tunneling exercise is on and the force has got gadgets that will help it detect tunnels or any attempt to dig tunnels.
The officer said peace is prevailing along the border with Pakistan for a long period.
“For a long period, there has been peace on the border (in Jammu). There are no reports of any untoward incident,” he said.
The IG also said the force has got the full support of police and intelligence agencies.