Maintaining highest possible vigil along border: IG BSF

Jammu, May 27: Stating that Pakistan Rangers fled their posts after the Border Security Force (BSF) foiled an infiltration bid of 40 to 50 terrorists in Samba sector, top officers of the paramilitary force on Tuesday said that there are inputs that the enemy may plan to conduct some kind of mischief, cross-border firing, or stage infiltration in coming days.
Addressing a joint press conference Inspector General of BSF, Jammu Frontier, Shashank Anand, DIGs SS Mand, Chiter Pal Singh and Varinder Dutta, said, “On the night of May 8, BSF’s surveillance systems detected the movement of a group of 40–50 terrorists near Sialkot. We launched a pre-emptive strike in the Samba region to foil their infiltration attempt.”
The officers said that Pakistan Rangers’ reaction was “unexpected.” “They fled their posts. They were not prepared for such a strong response. But we expect that they will restore their terror infrastructure in the future.”
The IG BSF said, “There are inputs that the enemy may plan to conduct some kind of mischief, cross-border firing, or stage infiltration. We are ready and vigilant.”
He said that “Operation Sindoor” is ongoing as Pakistan cannot be trusted. “We cannot let our guard down. We are maintaining the highest possible vigil along the border.”
IG Anand said that BSF women personnel, including Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari, exhibited exemplary courage by manning forward posts, while constables Manjit Kaur, Malkit Kaur, Jyoti, Sampa, Swapna, and others were stationed along the border”.
“We are proposing to name one post in Samba sector after Operation Sindoor and two others after martyrs,” he said.
He also confirmed deaths of BSF sub-inspector Mohammad Imtiyaz, constable Deepak Kumar, and Indian Army Naik Sunil Kumar in a drone attack.
He added that two BSF posts will be named after the fallen personnel, and one will be named ‘Sindoor’.
He said that BSF and Army are jointly dealing with tunnel threats. “We are keeping a close watch over every inch of land,” the IG said.
IG Anand highlighted the BSF’s robust response post the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack on tourists. “Retaliation was evident after Operation Sindoor. In areas along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri and the IB in Jammu, we took aggressive postures. Pakistani Rangers confined themselves to posts while BSF stayed on the front foot,” he said.
He said the BSF destroyed multiple terror launch pads in Akhnoor, Samba, and R S Pura sectors, including those in Loni, Mastpur, and Chabbra.
DIG Sunderbani Sector, Varinder Dutta said, ” On 8th May, we had reports that 18 to 20 terrorists were present at Looni terror launch pad of Pakistan across the border and they could infiltrate here. But we surprised them by launching an attack, causing heavy casualties.”
DIG Chitterpal Singh said Pakistan used drones and targeted villages like Abdullian using various weapons.
“We responded by destroying several enemy posts, towers, and bunkers. Around 72 Pakistani posts and 47 forward posts were hit. In contrast, BSF suffered no loss of assets or infrastructure,” he said.
On confidence-building measures in border villages, the IG BSF said, “Border domination by us is being done continuously. We are encouraging the farmers living in border villages to reap their crop. Our farmers conduct their agricultural activity under heavy protection. We can also see that Pakistani farmers are carrying out agricultural activity now. We are seeing that normalcy is returning. Seema Suraskha Bal personnel are visiting border villages and holding meetings, medical camps and civic action programs.”
“BSF is India’s first line of defence. We do not provoke but will retaliate strongly against any misadventure. Our guard remains up, and our vigilance unwavering,” IG Anand said. (KNO)