News Analysis India

Tag: BSF

  • BSF thwarts infiltration bid of three Pakistani intruders along India border in Punjab’s Pathankot

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: The BSF thwarted an infiltration attempt by three Pakistani intruders along the India-Pakistan international border in Punjab’s Pathankot district, officials said on Thursday.

    Border Security Force personnel opened fire when they noticed suspicious movement of three people trying to enter into the Indian territory around 10:15 pm Wednesday, a BSF official said.

    He said the three went back after the BSP troops posted at the Paharipur border outpost fired gunshots to stop them.

    A joint search operation was being conducted in the area by the BSF and the Punjab Police, a police official said.

  • ‘Had small piece of paper with a number on it’: BSF demands FIR against Pakistani pigeon

    By PTI
    AMRITSAR: The BSF has sought registration of an FIR against an intruder from Pakistan that happens to be a pigeon.

    The Punjab Police are seeking legal opinion on this.

    The pigeon perched itself on the shoulder of a Border Security Force jawan at the Rorawala post here last Saturday, apparently after flying across the border, an official said.

    A small piece of paper with a “contact number” was wrapped around its leg, the official said.

    The BSF personnel handed over the bird to the police with a demand in writing for taking legal action.

    Senior Superintendent of Police Dhruv Dahiya said the BSF demanded registration of an FIR against the pigeon.

    “As the pigeon is a bird, I don’t think an FIR can be registered against it. But we have referred the matter to our legal experts for their opinion,” he said on Wednesday.

    The number tagged on the pigeon’s leg is being analysed, he said.

    Pigeons have been “captured” earlier as well in border areas with security forces suspecting espionage attempts.

    Homing pigeons can be used to courier information and the tags can carry coded messages.

    Or the birds can be innocent, tagged with identification numbers by their keepers.

    For now, the pigeon is being kept at the Khangarh police station.

  • This is how BSF nabbed Pakistani smuggler from Punjab border fence in a first-of-its-kind op

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: In a first-of-its-kind operation, anti-narcotics agencies have nabbed a Pakistani national while attempting to smuggle drugs from along the India-Pakistan border fence in Punjab, officials said on Saturday.

    Twenty-eight-year-old Amjad Ali alias Majid Jutt, a resident of Kharak village in Lahore, was nabbed by the Border Security Force (BSF) troops in the Khemkaran front area of Ferozepur district on the intervening night of April 6-7 when he and his associates were about to push in over 20 kg of heroin from under the fence to their Indian contacts.

    A total of 20.5 kg of heroin, a mobile phone, a power bank and a 13-feet-long PVC pipe (used to push in drug packets from under the border fence) were recovered by the BSF from Ali, they said.

    As it was a case “of utmost importance related to inter-border drug trafficking”, the probe was handed over to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), deputy director general (north) of the central agency Gyaneshwar Singh said.

    “It is an international drugs syndicate working from across the border. Suppliers are sitting across the fence and pushing in the drugs into India,” he said.

    In a video provided by the NCB, the arrested Pakistani national confesses to have been nabbed by BSF troops in the dead of the night on the said day from the “zero line” of India-Pakistan border.

    Seen handcuffed and flanked by NCB officers, he claims in the video that while he and his two associates were about to push in drugs to the Indian side, the BSF fired and the two men with him and those on the Indian side fled as he ducked to save himself.

    “The BSF caught me after opening the gates of the border fence,” he is heard saying.

    NCB deputy director (operations) K P S Malhotra said this was the “first operation in which a Pakistani national was arrested alive” from the international front area.

    There have been numerous instances of the BSF shooting dead drug smugglers along this border in the past.

    Malhotra said a man identified as Jarnail Singh has also been arrested by the NCB from Vadodara in Gujarat on Saturday on leads provided by the Pakistani man.

    Jarnail Singh, the receiver of the 20.5 kg heroin being smuggled from across the India-Pakistan border that day, is a resident of Ferozepur and has been absconding since the BSF nabbed the Pakistani man, he said.

    “Amjad Ali was put to sustained interrogation, which led to unearthing of the entire drug syndicate, which is being controlled by two Pakistani nationals who are, residents of Lahore and Kasur districts of Pakistan.” 

    “The Indian side receivers have also been identified. Raids have been conducted at possible hideouts in Punjab and Gujarat,” Malhotra said.

    The NCB said it will “also raise this issue at appropriate international forums and will also seek assistance in arrest of the Pakistani nationals who are involved with Amjad Ali in drug trafficking”.

    We are going to take the help of Interpol to nab and nail the international operatives of this syndicate, Gyaneshwar Singh said.

  • BSF recovers 31-kg heroin, nabs Pakistani smuggler in Punjab’s Ferozepur

    By PTI
    FEROZEPUR: The Border Security Force recovered 31 kg of heroin and nabbed a Pakistani smuggler in Punjab’s Ferozepur sector on Wednesday, officials said.

    In the first seizure, the BSF sleuths of the 14th battalion recovered 30 packets of heroin weighing 29.87 kg near the M W Uthar border outpost in Khem Karan area.

    Besides, two mobile phones were also recovered.

    Acting on intelligence inputs, the BSF planned the entire operation that was executed successfully with the arrest of the Pakistani smuggler, according to sources.

    However, the identity of the smuggler was not disclosed by the BSF.

    In another seizure, the BSF troops belonging to the 136th battalion recovered three packets of heroin weighing 1.16 kg.

    BSF Deputy Inspector General Surinder Mehta said suspicious movement of smugglers was observed ahead of the barbed-wire fencing, following which the troops swung into action.

    However, the smugglers managed to escape.

    During a search operation, the consignment was recovered.

    A 12-feet-long plastic pipe was also recovered and it was probably used to push the consignment across the barbed-wire fencing, the DIG said.

  • Pakistani smuggler gunned down along International Border; 22kg heroin, arms seized

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: A Pakistani smuggler who tried to cross over to India was shot dead along the International Border in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and the Border Security Force (BSF), officials said. The security personnel recovered close to 22 kg of heroin, two AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition from him.

    The operation was carried out after they received a tip-off that the smuggler will be entering the Indian territory to deliver the consignment of drugs and weapons. Following this, the security personnel pressed into action at the Kakkar border outpost on the international border. As soon as the suspect crossed over, his movement was noticed. The security men asked him to surrender but he kept on moving and opened fire. 

    The BSP men and the police shot back at the smuggler in retaliation and he was gunned down in the exchange of fire.

    The officials conducted a thorough search in the area on the Indian side of the border and seized 22 packets of heroin weighing about 22 kg, two AK-47 assault rifles, four magazines, one mobile phone with a Pakistani SIM card and Rs 210 in Pakistan currency.

    Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural) Dhruv Dahiya said that as per the initial investigations, the smuggler was known to his two Indian counterparts who were residents of the Gurdaspur district and were presently located in Belgium. They were allegedly involved in anti-India activities at the behest of the ISI agency of Pakistan.

    “What was the exact purpose for which the drugs, arms and ammunition were being smuggled to India is yet to be revealed as the investigations are in progress. We expect all the facts to come out soon,” he said.

    Two days ago, in another joint operation, the officials seized an AK-56 with magazine, five bullets, an AK-47 with magazine, nine rounds, a .303 gun with magazine, seven rounds, and a .30 China-made pistol with magazine. These were being pushed by Pakistani smugglers into the Indian territory near Pul Moran border outpost on the International Border.

  • Pakistani intruder shot dead by BSF on Jammu border

    By ANI
    SAMBA (Jammu and Kashmir): An intruder from Pakistan was shot dead by the Border Security Force on the international border in the Ramgarh area of Jammu’s Samba district.

    According to top sources in BSF, the incident took place on Tuesday at about 3:55 pm and the intruder was found moving aggressively towards wild growth (sarkanda) while approaching the border fence from the direction of Pakistan’s village Lehri Kalan.

    Sources said the intruder “repeatedly ignored warnings by the BSF, he was shot dead near Malluchak post of the BSF in Ramgarh sub-sector”.

    The BSF personnel recovered Rs 200 in Pakistani currency ( 1 fifty rupee note, 3 twenty rupee notes and 9 ten-rupee notes).

    It is suspected that Pakistani national was not mentally sound.

    His body has been handed over to Ramgarh Police Station for a post mortem.

    The incident comes weeks after both India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) on February 25, after a meeting of the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries. 

  • Pakistan intruder shot dead by BSF along IB in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba

    By PTI
    JAMMU: A Pakistani intruder was gunned down by the BSF along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district on Tuesday, the third such incident since November last year, a spokesperson for the border guarding force said.

    The incident happened in the Border Outpost area of Malluchak in Ramgarh sector, the Border Security Force (BSF) spokesperson said.

    “At about 3.55 pm, BSF troops observed suspicious movement of an intruder aggressively moving towards wild growth (sarkanda) while approaching fence from the side of Pakistani Village Lehri Kalan and crossing the IB into the Indian territory between Border Post No 12/5 and 12/6.

    “The intruder attempted to negotiate and exploit the Basantar river gap.BSF troops tracked and challenged him but the intruder tried to escape into Pakistani territory after which he was fired upon,” the spokesperson said in a statement here.

    He said the body of the intruder was recovered upon search of area and handed over to Ramgarh police station.

    “The Basantar river has been a traditional route of exploitation for infiltration and Lehri Kalan has been old launching pad of militants. This is the third killing of Pakistani intruder in recent times,” the spokesperson said.

    Officials said the deceased was in possession of Rs 200 in Pakistani currency and his physical appearance suggested that he was not mentally fit.

    His body is likely to be handed over to Pakistani rangers at a flag meeting after post-mortem, they said.

    He was the second Pakistani intruder killed by the BSF in Samba sector in the past 37 days and third since November 23 last year.

    A Pakistani infiltrator was killed in border outpost Chak Faquira in Samba on February 8, while another intruder was killed in the same area on November 23 last year.

  • Pakistani drone spotted in Punjab’s Bamial, flies back after BSF opens fire 

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: A Pakistani drone entered the Indian territory on Sunday but was forced to return as BSF jawans spotted it and opened fire in its direction in Punjab’s Pathankot district, a police official said.

    “The drone which came from the Pakistani side was sighted at Dinda post close to Bamial along the Indo-Pak international border,” Pathankot Senior Superintendent of Police Gulneet Singh Khurana told PTI over phone.

    He said the BSF opened fire in its direction after which it returned to the neighbouring country.

    Asked if the drone dropped anything inside the Indian territory before flying back, Khurana said, “A thorough search operation was carried out at the site, but nothing was found.

    ” In December 2020, 11 hand grenades dropped by a drone flying in from Pakistan were recovered from a field near the International Border in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.

    The consignment was found in Salach village, located about one km from the border.

    The box of hand grenades had been attached to a wooden frame which was lowered from the drone onto the ground with a nylon rope, police had then said.

    The first incident of dropping of arms and weapons through drones from Pakistan came to light in Punjab in September 2019 when police recovered AK-47 rifles, magazines and rounds of ammunition, hand grenades, fake currency and other items in Tarn Taran district.

  • Trafficked Bangladeshi woman rescued by BSF near border outpost

    By PTI
    KOLKATA:  A Bangladeshi woman, allegedly trafficked into India, has been rescued by Border Security Force jawans close to a border outpost in North 24 Parganas district, a BSF statement said on Tuesday.

    The border guards intercepted the woman at Ghojadanga outpost when she was trying to cross over to the neighbouring country on Monday night, the statement said.

    During interrogation, the woman said that a few months back she had been sold to a brothel in the red-light area of Sonagachi here by a gang of international traffickers.

    She had escaped from the red-light area on Sunday.

    The woman, who was abandoned by her husband at Munshiganj district in the neighbouring country, had approached a friend in Bangladesh to help her cross the international border for getting a tailoring job in India.

    Instead of helping her, her friend made her fall prey to a racket involved in flesh trade, the statement said.

    The woman has been handed over to Basirhat police station after counselling.

  • TMC’s Mahua Moitra writes to Delhi Police chief, seeks withdrawal of BSF personnel from her home

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Saturday wrote to the Delhi Police after three armed security personnel were deputed outside her official residence in New Delhi, wondering whether she was under “Some sort of surveillance”.

    3 BSF men w/ assault rifles outside my home. Say they are from Barakhamba Road police station for my “protection”. Still outside my home.Am a free citizen of India – people will protect me.Request Honb’le HM @AmitShah Ji & @HMOIndia to remove immediately pic.twitter.com/7nQLy323Xv
    — Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) February 13, 2021

    In the letter to Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava, she said the station house officer of Barakhamba Road police station had come to meet her at her residence on February 12 and shortly “Thereafter, around three BSF personnel armed with assault rifles had been deputed outside her house”.  

    “The conduct of these armed officers indicate that they are making notes of movements to and from my residence, it appears to me that I am under some sort of surveillance. I wish to remind you that Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right guaranteed to me, as a citizen of this country, under the Constitution of India, 1950,” she stated.

    Our brave young men sign up for the BSF to guard India’s borders – using them for durwan duty outside my home is a bit silly, isn’t it, @CPDelhi , @MHAIndia pic.twitter.com/LViFEu2HOt
    — Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) February 13, 2021

    “Upon making inquiries, I was informed that the armed officers had been deputed from Police Station Barakhamba Road for my protection. However, I being an ordinary citizen of this country, did neither ask nor want any such protection. Therefore, you are requested to withdraw these officers,” she said in her letter. 

    Sharing pictures of the security personnel deputed outside her residence on Twitter, Moitra wrote: “Our brave young men sign up for the BSF to guard India’s borders – using them for durwan duty outside my home is a bit silly, isn’t it, @CPDelhi, @MHAIndia.”