New Delhi: The government swung into immediate action after receiving information of bodies of two Indian 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 Indo-Pak border. Among those present were R&AW chief Anil Dasmana, director Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain, home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other senior officials.
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 and their bodies mutilated while another BSF constable Rajinder Singh was injured in the attack though he is reported to be out of danger.
The BSF headquarters informed the home ministry that they had received intelligence inputs about Pakistan Army personnel laying land mines close to the LoC in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch region. A 10-member team, comprising BSF and Army personnel, were sent to inspect the site on Monday morning.
The team came under heavy firing from Pakistani security forces.
Sources said home minister directed BSF to remain on high alert along the border and retaliate hard to any ceasefire violation by Pakistani security forces. 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.
The home minister has also directed the ministry’s top brass to ensure complete security for BSF personnel deployed along the border, especially along the forward posts that are situated ahead of the fencing.
“Perhaps our security forces were caught unawares by the sudden attack by BAT as they apparently were distracted by heavy firing from the Pakistani post,” a security official said.
Intelligence reports available with the home ministry also claimed that the BAT, which entered 200 meters inside Indian territory, comprised members of Pak Army’s special services group (SSG) and militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.
The BSF too informed the Central government 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.
BSF, which is the border guarding force for the Indo-Pak border, has also informed Home Ministry that in the past few weeks there has a substantial increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan. The security force claimed as many as seven such violations have taken place in Poonch and Rajouri sectors recently. BSF chief KK Sharma also briefed the Home Secretary on the incident.
