3 rockets fired from Pak side
Two land in Indian villages, create panic
Three rockets were fired from the Pakistan side of the border with two of them landing in Indian villages, injuring a youth besides triggering panic among villagers, a top BSF official said on Sunday.
“Last night around 9.50 pm, three rockets were fired from the Pakistan side, out of which two landed in Dhandae and Baherwal villages close to the Attari international border. A youth was injured in the incident,” BSF’s Inspector General (Punjab Frontier), Himmat Singh told PTI over phone.
Singh said one rocket fell and exploded on the Pak side of the International Border. The incident had also triggered panic among the border residents.
Soon after the incident, senior BSF officials, including DIG Mohammed Aqeel, army and police visited the spot. Asked if it could be the handiwork of Pak-based terror groups, Singh said, “at the moment, we cannot confirm this though such a possibility cannot be ruled out.
“We held a commandant-level meeting on Saturday with Pakistani Rangers and conveyed our strong protest. They have assured us that they will fully investigate the matter and share the details with us.” Asked from what distance could the rockets have been fired, Singh said it could be confirmed only after the investigations. Dilbagh Singh (24), of Dhandae village, who was working on his fields, received splinter injuries. The rocket had also created a 10-ft-wide crater. He said the rocket was fired from the Pakistani side and fell on his irrigated paddy field, a portion of which was damaged. Another eyewitness Sukhwinder said the villagers were in a state of panic and feared that such incidents may recur.
The BSF IG also said the force had taken additional measures to strengthen security of visitors who flocked the Attari border in large numbers to witness the Beating Retreat ceremony in the evening.
BSF sources said a heavy contingent of Army and BSF were monitoring the situation since last night. Various army teams were already on the spot to gather splinters of the two rockets that exploded on this side of the border. The BSF sources said the force has collected some pieces of the fired objects from Dhandae. Dhandae is a small village with only about 200 families and none of them came out of their houses even in late morning after the rocket explosions.
In a separate incident yesterday evening, a Pakistani intruder aged about (22) created tension at the international boundary in during daytime when he ignored repeated warnings of BSF and crossed over to Indian territory after which he was shot dead. The incident took place near the Attari Check Post at Rorawali village adjoining to Dhandae village.
