BSF guns down 3 Pak intruders along border

The Border Security Force (BSF) gunned down three of the five intruders from Pakistan who were trying to sneak into Punjab through the riverine belt in Amritsar’s Ajnala sector in the early hours of Tuesday.

Around 4 am, a BSF patrol party noticed suspicious movement and issued a warning. The intruders, at least five in number and armed, opened fire on being challenged by the BSF.

The BSF returned fire killing three on the spot, while two others managed to flee back to Pakistan. The BSF later used boats to reach the bodies. The intruders were possibly here for intelligence gathering.

The security agencies are yet to identify the three intruders who are believed to be in the age group of 20 to 25 years. Three Pakistani mobiles with Pakistani SIM cards and some Indian currency were also seized.

The catchment areas of the Ravi and Sutlej rivers in Punjab, which zigzag along the international border, are often in spate during the monsoon and expose the vulnerability of the border state of Punjab to not only drug peddlers, but to terror as well from across the border.

The catchment areas of these rivers have thick wild vegetation that makes the task of the BSF even more difficult.

The BSF had identified at least 40 such riverine spots that could be vulnerable to infiltration bids from across the border. While the entire international border belt in Punjab is adequately fenced, these riverine spots are not.

There are plans to use laser sensors to check infiltration through these spots. Also, there is a proposal to instal geo-seismic sensors.