The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on Thursday shot dead a 30-year-old intruder early on Thursday along the Indo-Pak border in Pathankot where the force is on high alert following the January 2 terror attack on Air Force base.
So far, there is no indication whether the person shot dead was a smuggler or a terrorist. Officials said this could be known only after further investigation. The BSF troops deployed along the International Border saw suspicious movement of at least three infiltrators near the Taash area in Bamiyal early morning and in order to thwart their bid to breach the border, the troops fired.
“One intruder has been killed after he came in about 5-10 metres inside the IB on Indian side around 6 am. Two others accompanying the 30-year-old man fled back. The area where the incident took place is called Taash and is in Gurdaspur sector, about 5 km from Bamiyal in Pathankot,” they said.
BSF troops have retrieved the body from the area and have found a slip with something written on it in Urdu. “There are no other belongings on his body,” they said.
Officials said the infiltrators were attempting to enter in the morning when floodlights were switched off. The area from where the infiltration bid was being made is a place where the border fence has been broken as a result of floods, they said.
“This is when they were spotted and after a brief challenge the border guards fired. It looks to be a planned attempt to breach the IB,” they said.
Incidentally, Bamiyal is the same area from where it is widely suspected that the terrorists from Pakistan who perpetrated the IAF base attack in Pathankot had sneaked into the country.
The latest action was done by a trooper of the 132nd BSF battalion. Gurdaspur Deputy Inspector General NK Mishra and Commandant of the 132nd battalion deployed in the area SS Dabas were recently transferred by the BSF and a Court of Inquiry ordered to look for any lapses that could have led to the Pathankot attack in which seven security personnel were killed.