New Delhi: Security forces have launched a major security audit using hi-tech gadgets, including satellite imagery, to find tunnels along the entire Line of Control and International Border with Pakistan.
The move comes in the wake of the revelations that Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed in Nagrota encounters Friday morning had used a tunnel to infiltrate.
Sources said that the cross-border underground tunnel unearthed in Samba sector was 160 metres into the Indian side and estimated to be 40 metres on the Pakistani side of IB. Security sources claimed that considering the perfection with which the tunnel was dug, there was a possibility of Pakistani establishment’s engineering support.
The exit was in thick bushes meticulously covered with soil and wild growth. The mouth of the tunnel was strengthened and reinforced by sand bags with markings of Karachi, Pakistan.
The freshly dug tunnel appears to have been used for the first time by the terrorists.
Based on leads available consequent to the Nagrota encounter, it seems that Jaish terrorists were picked up by a truck from village Jatwal in Samba on the national highway.
The nearest Pakistani border outposts where the tunnel was found are Chak Bhura, Rajab Sahid and Asif Sahid.
“We suspect that some more such tunnels might have been constructed close to the border. Due to increased security and the strong anti-infiltration grid it is become increasingly difficult for militants to infiltrate. Hence terrorists supported by Pakistani establishment are using alternate techniques to cross into India,” a senior security official said.
Now a detailed survey is being done all along the border to check for more such tunnels.
Sources claimed that this elaborate security audit would be completed within the next few days to ensure no infiltration takes place during winter.
