Surge in infiltration along LoC; Army foils another bid

There seems to be a surge in the infiltration attempts by the militants across the Line of Control (LoC) for the past month in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Tuesday, Army foiled another infiltration bid along the LoC in Rajouri district.
Defence spokesman SN Acharya said three militants were trying to sneak in through LoC in the general area Sukhtao Nala in Sunderbani Sector, of Rajouri district at around 6:30 am on Tuesday. “The infiltrating militants were spotted 30 metres inside the LoC and were challenged by the army personnel who in turn started firing our soldiers and started running back,” he said. Acharya said that the army troops countered the fire and foiled the infiltration bid. There were no reports of causality on either side, he added.

Infiltration attempts from across the LoC into the state have increased in the recent months.  A senior army official said as snow has already started melting, militants and their handlers across the border are making increasing attempts to infiltrate.

 “However, counter infiltration grid — including sophisticated gadgets — have been activated along the LoC to foil infiltration bids, and vigil on all routes prone to infiltration has been intensified,” he told Deccan Herald.

“The challenges for the army to keep militants out have grown manifold. Usually the ultras attempt to infiltrate in small groups of five to eight militants. And when challenged by the security forces, despite suffering casualties, a small number of survivors generally manage to sneak in,” the official said.

He said in the last few years “residual militancy” seems far from over, given the increase in terror activities in recent months. Inspector General Border Security Force (BSF), Jagat Singh said the troops along the LoC have been put on high alert after multiple ceasefire violations by Pakistan. He didn’t rule out attempts of infiltration under the cover of ceasefire violations.
Singh said that the militant training camps across the LoC are intact and over 150 ultras are waiting to infiltrate.

According to the Army, over 200 militants are waiting on the LoC for infiltration as six infiltration attempts have been foiled this year in Kashmir and 12 militants killed. Army also lost three personnel while fighting infiltrators.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had on Monday said Pakistan was desperate to carry out infiltration into the Indian side. “Pakistan is desperate to attack Amarnath Yatra and Vishno Devi Yatra, in the wake of the tightened security in the state and the tough stand of the Centre,” he told reporters.
DH News Service