BSF shoots down 2 Pak intruders in Tarn Taran

Over Rs 5,000 in Pak currency, a leather purse, IDs, a headphone and a comb have been recovered

TARN TARAN : The Border Security Force (BSF) shot dead two intruders who had entered Indian territory from Pakistan near Khalra village of Bhikhiwind sub-division in Tarn Taran district on Friday night.

The BSF recovered Rs 5,262 Pakistani currency, a leather purse containing ID cards and documents, a headphone and a comb from the intruders, identified as Muhammad Asif, 23, and Abdul Barar, 24.

According to a BSF spokesperson, the personnel of 103 Battalion deployed at the border outpost Thehkalan observed suspicious movement on the Indian side. He said the BSF men challenged the intruders to stop, but they continued to move towards the border fence and the troops opened fire, killing them on the spot.

A search operation was carried out in the area on Saturday morning under the supervision of the battalion commandant SN Goswami. “Our investigation is still on to ascertain if the killed Pakistanis were terrorists or drug smugglers,” said a senior BSF official.

The bodies have been handed over to the police. Khalra station house officer (SHO) Tarsem Singh said: “The bodies have been sent to a mortuary after conducting a post-mortem. A meeting between the BSF and Pakistan Rangers was also held, but the latter denied claiming the bodies.”

In August last year, the troops of the same battalion had gunned down five Pakistani intruders, who were armed to the teeth, near Dal village of Bhikhiwind sub-division.

During the search operation, one AK-47 rifle with 2 magazines and 27 live rounds and 4 pistols of .9mm.

Our investigation is on whether the killed Pakistanis were terrorists or drug smugglers. BSF OFFICIAL