‘Tunnel not possible without Pakistan help’
NEW DELHI: The cross-border tunnel that the B SF men stumbled upon in Jammu’s RS Pura sector couldn’t have been built without the help of Pakistan authorities, sources said.
The 30-metre long and 10-foot deep tunnel that runs below the border fence has wooden planks lining the walls and bamboo clums supporting the roof. “It doesn’t look like a rush job. We suspect the tunnel was built over three to four months,” a security official said.
Dug barely 100 metres away for a Pakistan Rangers’ post, the tunnel would not have been built without the help of “some well-organised state machinery in Pakistan”, the official said.
The tunnel, closed on the Indian side, could have been used for smuggling weapons and infiltration.
NEW DELHI: A cross-border tunnel discovered by Indian forces in Jammu could not have been constructed without help from Pakistan’s state machinery, sources said on Sunday, days after security officials said the secret passageway was dug for a terror attack.
The BSF, which guards the India-Pakistan border, has asked for a joint inspection and investigation of the tunnel — 100 feet long and 10 feet deep — with the Pakistan Rangers. “The sophisticatedly built tunnel with the support of many wooden planks and bamboo culms was not possible without the involvement of some well-organised state machinery in Pakistan,” said a senior security official requesting anonymity.
The t unnel detected on Thursday is the fourth such discovery along the India-Pakistan border and Line of Control in Jammu since 2012. Sources said it was carefully built over three to four months.
“It (the tunnel) started just 100 metres away from the Pakistan Ranger’s ‘Shaheed Afzal’ post. How can anyone dig a tunnel so close to the post without the involvement of the state machinery? The tunnel was found closed on the Indian side but it could have been opened at any time,” said the official.
According to BSF officials, a high-ranking Pakistan Rangers representative came to inspect the tunnel unannounced after India lodged a protest. The officer was shown the tunnel by local BSF commanders.
“During the previous BSFPakistan Rangers talks in Delhi, a mechanism of joint inspection and investigation was devised. We want Pakistan to adhere to it,” said BSF chief KK Sharma who inspected the tunnel two days ago.
Sources said the security force is using ground-penetrating radar to detect such tunnels. The system is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and is in trial stages.
“Such radars are used in the mining sector and the BSF wants something compact. Besides, the radar can detect digging, but it is difficult to spot tunnels that have already been dug,” said a home ministry official requesting anonymity.