BSF roping in panchayats to tackle Pak drone threat
Officials told to share their contact numbers with sarpanches of villages falling within 5km radius of border
AMRITSAR: The BSF has started roping in panchayats of border villages in Punjab to tackle increasing incidents of drones being used for dropping arms, ammunition and drugs from across the fence, said officials.
Company commandants of the Border Security Force (BSF), India’s first line of defence, have been directed to share their contact numbers with sarpanches of villages falling within the 5km radius of the International Border with Pakistan. The panchayats are being requested to inform the concerned BSF officials immediately whenever they spot any unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Officials said in absence of anti-drone technology along the border, they need public support to check UAVs entering the Indian territory. The move assumes significance as more than a dozen incidents of smuggling of tiffin bombs, hand grenades, pistols, and heroin through drones from Pakistan have been reported in the state in the past two months.
“As drones continue to pose a security threat, we have started holding meetings with panchayats of villages which fall within the area of 5km from the International Border. Phone numbers of our company commandants are being shared with the public representatives to pass on immediate information regarding the flying objects,” said BSF’s Gurdaspur sector deputy inspector general (DIG) Prabhakar Joshi.
On October 6, three drones, purportedly from Pakistan, were forced to retreat after the BSF troopers opened fire to prevent their entry into the Indian territory in Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts.
“Various anti-drone gadgets are under consideration. We hope of getting these soon. Until then, we need the support of villagers,” said a senior BSF official, who didn’t wish to be named.
“Drones being used for smuggling of arms and drugs fly at a height of 300 to 400 metres and are not spotted on radars. These flying objects can carry five to seven kilograms of drugs and ammunition and are usually used at night,” said the official.
Last month, Tarn Taran police arrested three members of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) in Bhikhwind sub-division after the recovery of two tiffin bombs, two hand grenades and three pistols. The accused had confessed to the police that the weapons were smuggled through drones from Pakistan and they had retrieved them from a border village to unleash terror activities in Punjab.
In August, a tiffin bomb packed with over 2kg of RDX and five hand grenades were found from Daleke village in Amritsar. The police said the ammunition was dropped by a drone from the neighbouring country.
Meanwhile, Punjab Police have intensified security near the border keeping in view of the festival season ahead.