■ BAT ENTERED 200 METRES INSIDE INDIAN TERRITORY. ■ RAJNATH HOLDS MEET TO REVIEW SITUATION. ■ SOLDIERS MIGHT HAVE BEEN CAUGHT UNAWARES.

MHA says BAT comprised members of Pak Army’s special services group and LeT militants

The government swung into action after receiving information of bodies of two soldiers being mutilated by the Pakistan Army with home minister Rajnath Singh chairing a high-level meeting with top security and intelligence officials to discuss the incidents and security along the border.

Intelligence reports available with the home ministry also claimed that the BAT, which entered 200 metres inside Indian territory, comprised members of Pak Army’s special services group (SSG) and militant group Lashkar-eToiaba (LeT).

The BSF too informed the Centre that Indian security personnel did not violate the LoC and were inside their own territory and it was Pak BAT which crossed over and attacked the patrolling team.

The meeting discussed a detailed report forwarded by BSF on the incident. A BSF head constable Prem Sagar and Army’s Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh were killed while another BSF constable Rajinder Singh was injured in the attack though he is reported to be out of danger.

While giving the sequence of events, the BSF headquarters informed the home ministry that they had received intelligence inputs about Pakistan Army personnel laying land mines close to the Line of Control in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch region. A 10member team, comprising BSF and Army personnel, was sent to inspect the site on Monday morning.

The team came under heavy firing from Pakistani security forces which used mortars and rocket propelled grenades (RPG) to target the patrolling team. The BSF also mentioned that under cover of heavy firing the Border Action Team (BAT) launched a simultaneous operation targeting Indian security personnel. After killing the two jawans, Pak BAT personnel mutilated the bodies with “sharp edged weapons”, the report adds.

Sources said home minister directed the BSF to remain on high alert and retaliate hard to ceasefire violation. The home minister will soon discuss the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval particularly on the retaliatory action by Indian security forces.

“Perhaps our security forces were caught unawares by the sudden attack by BAT as they were distracted by heavy firing from the Pakistani post. We need to put in place a more foolproof mechanism to protect our security personnel from BAT,” a security official said.