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Amid terror threat, BSF ups security at Punjab-Jammu border
The BSF has bolstered manpower and deployed CCTVs along the Punjab-Jammu border due to increased terrorist incidents. They combat cross-border drone smuggling of narcotics and arms.
The Border Security Force has “hugely” bolstered its manpower and deployed CCTVs along the Punjab-Jammu inter-state border to fortify security in the wake of a spurt in terrorist incidents in Jammu along the India-Pakistan front, the forces’ Punjab Frontier chief said on Friday. Inspector General (IG) Atul Fulzele told reporters during a press conference at its frontier headquarters here that the additional troops have been deployed along the Gurdaspur area in Pathankot district that abuts Jammu.
The enhancement in these security measures comes in the wake of increased terrorist activities in the Jammu region leading to the killing of more than 20 security personnel and civilians over the last few months. “We are also dominating the Ravi and Sutlej river areas with the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in big numbers,” he said.
Last month, a few ‘suspicious’ men were spotted in Phangtoli village in Pathankot district, bordering Jammu. In June, a resident of Kot Bhattian village in Pathankot had reported that suspicious men forced him at gunpoint to serve them dinner in his farmhouse.
The Union home ministry recently ordered the withdrawal of two BSF battalions from Odisha for deployment in Jammu and the Punjab-Jammu border.
Speaking about the menace of cross-border smuggling of narcotics into Punjab, the IG said that the smuggling was no longer taking place through land but by air via drones. He said their analysis into the drone menace along this front shows that flying drones was not possible “without the tacit understanding and approval of state-sponsored elements and authorities” who were sending these drugs, arms and ammunition-laden unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to India and Punjab. Their (drones) launch pads are generally near the IB or close to the Pakistani border posts, he said.
Fulzele said they have also noticed that bigger drones have stopped coming since October last year and now smaller ones, which make very less sound and are not visible, are being sent from Pakistan to India.
The IG said the BSF did an analysis and deployed a new strategy to “follow and trace” the drones in-depth and recovered them along with their droppings including heroin, pistols and bullet rounds. “We are going on an operations alert mode from August 10 all along the 553 km of the Punjab border in view of the Independence Day celebrations on August 15,” he said.
The BSF has about 20 battalions comprising more than 21,000 personnel to guard the Punjab international border. The BSF Punjab frontier seized more than 160 kg of heroin, 28 weapons, 40 magazines and 374 bullet rounds this year. A total of 24 Pakistani nationals were apprehended along this front out of which 12 were handed back to Pakistan Rangers. One intruder from Pakistan was also killed during this year.
