Armed Pak intruder gunned down by BSF in Amritsar

The intruder, who was carrying a pump action gun, was neutralised after he continued approaching the fence despite being warned.

AMRITSAR An armed man, who was moving towards the barbed-wire fence in Indian territory after crossing the international border from the Pakistan side, was gunned down by border security force (BSF) personnel near the Channa border outpost, officials said on Tuesday.

A BSF official, who didn’t wish to be named, said their investigation to find out if the intruder was a terrorist or a smuggler was still on. (HT Photo)

The intruder, who was carrying a pump action gun, was neutralised by the security personnel of the 73 battalion after he continued his approach towards the barbed-wire fence on the Indian side despite being warned, BSF officials added.

A BSF spokesperson said, “On January 3, during the morning hours, the alert BSF troops observed suspicious movement of a Pakistani armed miscreant ahead of the border fencing, in the area falling near bordering Village Dariya Mansoor of district Amritsar.”

He said, “The troopers challenged the miscreant, but he did not stop and continued moving ahead. Sensing an imminent threat and to stop further misadventure, the BSF troops fired upon the miscreant in self-defence, killing him on the spot.”

“On search, a gun was found near the body of the Pakistani miscreant. The vigilant BSF troops, once again, foiled the nefarious attempts of anti-national elements to enter Indian territory,” he added.

Another BSF official, who didn’t wish to be named, said their investigation to find out if the intruder was a terrorist or a smuggler was still on.

He said, “We have also recovered six live rounds of .12 bore from the spot. While launching our protest, the body of the intruder was shown to the Pakistani Rangers, but they denied identifying him. Nonetheless, the Rangers have taken the picture of the body. The body, so far, has been given to the Ramdas police station in Amritsar for a post-mortem. If the Rangers confirm his identity in a day or two, which they generally don’t, then the body will be given back. Otherwise, the body will be buried.”

This is the first case when an infiltrator was gunned down in Punjab by BSF this year. Last year, two intruders were killed by the BSF. Similarly, 23 Pakistani nationals were apprehended by the BSF last year, who had crossed over to Indian territory, while nine of them, who had crossed the border inadvertently, were repatriated on humanitarian grounds.