Amritsar: The Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday thwarted a major infiltration attempt across the India-Pakistan border in Punjab by neutralising two Pakistani intruders who tried to sneak into Indian territory in the state’s Tarn Taran district, officials said.
The incident occurred in the BOP Rajoke area of Tarn Taran early in the day.
According to sources, the BSF troopers swung into action after noticing suspicious movement near the border and challenged the purported infiltrators.
At least three individuals were moving towards the Indian border from the Chattanwala area on the Pakistani side, the sources said, adding that they were challenged and warned against moving any further. When they did not pay any heed and kept moving towards the Indian side, the BSF personnel opened fire.
While two infiltrators were shot dead, a third one managed to run back. The identity of the neutralised Pakistani intruders is yet to be ascertained.
The dead bodies have been handed over to police for a post-mortem examination and further proceedings are underway, in close coordination with the Punjab Police.
The incident underscores the level of alertness maintained by security agencies regarding infiltration attempts along the India-Pakistan border in the Punjab sector.
The incident comes amid continued security concerns along Punjab’s 553-km-long international border with Pakistan, which has witnessed several infiltration and cross-border smuggling attempts in recent years. However, several of these were successfully foiled by the BSF jawans.
Meanwhile, Punjab Police dismantled two illegal arms and narcotics supply networks and apprehended four accused and recovered 10 kg of heroin and 10 pistols.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused are allegedly linked to foreign-based smugglers and are involved in procuring illegal weapons and narcotics, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.
Two first information reports (FIRs) were registered in Amritsar. Further investigation is underway to uncover the complete network and establish the backward and forward linkages, he added.
In a related earlier development, Amritsar Rural Police had dismantled an illegal arms and narcotics supply network with the arrest of three people, comprising a woman, her husband and her brother. The police had recovered 10.030 kg of heroin, two sophisticated assault rifles, including an AK-47 and an AK-56, along with three magazines and 10 cartridges from their possession.
(IANS)
