After 21 months of detecting a cross-border tunnel, close to the International border in Samba sector of Jammu frontier, caved in portion of the same tunnel was detected by the BSF jawans on Friday while they were clearing elephant grass.
On July 27, 2012 local farmers in village Chilyari of Samba had raised an alarm after some portion of the paddy field was found caved in due to heavy downpour in the area. Digging the caved in portion, however, helped the BSF in uncovering the plot hatched by the Pak rangers to push in armed militants using the underground channel.
After detection of the 400 metre long cross-border tunnel, Pak rangers had resorted to firing in the area to prevent Indian agencies track down the other end of the tunnel along the same axis towards Pakistan’s side. The digging beyond the barbed wire fencing was abandoned in the wake of heavy exchange of fire between the two sides.
According to official sources and local BSF officers, “The BSF jawans, engaged in the task of clearing elephantine grass in the area, stumbled upon the caved in portion of the tunnel close to the barbed fire fencing along the border on Friday.”
local BSF commander immediately briefed his seniors in Jammu in the wake of DG BSF Devender Kumar Pathak’s visit of to review security situation. DG, BSF, currently on a three-day visit to Jammu, also visited some of the border posts in Kathua on Friday and took stock of the prevailing security situation along the IB.
He interacted with BSF jawans and was briefed by local commanders about the measures taken to prevent infiltration bids by militants from across the border in the coming months.
BSF is working hard to plug the infiltration routes along the rivulets and inhospitable terrain to prevent entry of infiltrators. In the last seven months two groups of fidayeens managed to infiltrate inside the Indian territory and targeted the Army camp in Samba and Kathua besides attacking Hiranagar police station on September 26, 2013 and March 28, 2014.