Heightened vigil at Punjab border

In blistering heat at a Gurdaspur-Pakistan border outpost in Punjab, Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Parikshet Dass is on high alert manning the fenced boundary in village Jaidpur— the nearest Indian village to the international border with Pakistan.

Just a few metres away from the dilapidated village road is the long stretch of fenced boundary put up by the BSF to check infiltration from across the border. Drawn against the ground situation in neighboring J&K, the heightened vigil in this part of the Punjab border with Pakistan is slightly uncommon.

Monday’s blast in Dina Nagar in Gurdaspur has changed not just the political narrative, it has altered the manner in which security agencies are now looking at this part of the border zone in Punjab. Based on GPS device locations found on the bodies of terrorists, this sizable border zone is believed to be the stretch from where at least three heavily armed militants crossed over from Pakistan into Punjab.

Deccan Herald visited this BSF outpost and village Jaidpur,  some 25-km from the Dina Nagar terror strike area. “We have orders to be on extreme high alert after the Gurdaspur terror strike. This area is peaceful otherwise,” Dass told Deccan Herald.

An uneasy calm prevails in village Jaidpur. The village has about 100 houses and almost every house practices farming inside the fenced boundary. The Dina Nagar terror strike exposed the vulnerability of this border zone which had never before seen militant infiltration bids. 

Amrik Singh,  the junior brother of village Sarpanch Kashmira Singh says, “The villagers are vigilant. They share a good rapport. Just that they now need to be more cautious.” The wife of the Sarpanch, Sukhbir Kaur, told DHNS that the fenced boundary area is out of bound at night;“The BSF is very alert. Pakistan boundary starts just a little away. In fact, since we cannot relocate ourselves anywhere else because of our livelihood, we feel the security provided by the BSF is an asset.” Outside the village, BSF guard Parikshet Dass points out the high tower post where the other sentry is manning the areas. “It is a clear view of the Pakistani side from the tower. Infiltration from this side isn’t possible,” he said.

But then he expressed ignorance about a dead body of a Pakistani found right inside Indian territory this month. Pakistan refused to accept the body denying that he had come from the Pakistani side.