Bamiyal sector remains as vulnerable as ever

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, August 3

Nothing much has changed in the vulnerable Bamiyal sector a week after the Dinanagar terror attack.

A high-profile team of the Border Security Force had visited some of the pockets at Paharipur outpost on July 30 as the Global Positioning System (GPS) seized from the militants had pointed towards the Bamiyal sector touching Pakistan.

The border township of Dinanagar is sandwiched between Gurdaspur and Pathankot. Around 22 km away is Bamiyal which is vulnerable to infiltration.

Earlier too, intruders have crossed over from this point. Bamiyal shares borders with the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

A week after the Dinanagar terror attack, the situation remains as it was earlier. No efforts to fill the gaps in border security of the key Bamiyal sector could be noticed.

Though there are watch towers and new forward posts are coming up, yet a sizeable stretch of the Indo-Pak border is negligibly guarded.

The seasonal rivulets at the Indo-Pak border, scant vigil to check the cross-border infiltration and the suspected role of the Gujjar community deras along the border are some of the issues that call for immediate attention.

Three rivulets — Ujh, Jalalia and Tarnah — flowing from Jammu and Kashmir merge into the Ravi at a place called Mararah Pattan, before flowing towards Pakistan.

Due to its zigzag flow, it flows back to the Indian side. During monsoon, the water level goes up. This results in the weakening of the border fence over it, facilitating the sneaking in of trained intruders.

Route terrorists took

Though the security agencies have not officially announced the route that led the terrorists to Dinanagar, yet an official, on the condition of anonymity, said that the terrorists entered through Pahari Pur and swam across the Ravi to reach Mararah Pattan.

As per GPS analysis, they probably went towards Bala Pind-Narot Jaimal Singh-Makaura- Bharath-Balaur-Dholowal.

They must have walked towards Chottu Ram Mandir which is just 200m ahead of the Dinanagar railway line where the bomb was planted. From there, the Dinanagar bus stand is just a km away.

Then, they shot dead their first target — Amarjit Singh, who runs a ‘chhole-kulcha’ joint near the bus stand — on July 27. A few metres ahead, they snatched the car of dhaba owner Kamaljit Singh Matharoo after injuring him. After making a bid to intercept a PRTC bus, they barged into the police station.

Vulnerable points

Though BSF’s posts and watch towers are in Bhopalpur village, yet a sizeable portion of the L-shaped fence was found to be broken. The part of the fence on the rivulet had been swept away, but instead of mending it, a stop-gap arrangement was made with the help of wild shrubs.

Gujjar deras

Questions are being raised as to how the Gujjar community escaped being the targets of the terrorists.

The local residents said that makeshift Gujjar deras are found at secluded spots of almost all villages along the Indo-Pak border.

They allege that the Gujjar deras acted as conduit for terrorists from the other side. The Gujjars enjoy political patronage and hence, the defence forces expressed their inability to displace them.

The Gurdaspur police have recently rounded up several persons belonging to the Gujjar community for questioning.

SSP Pathankot Rakesh Kaushal said that displacing the Gujjars was under the jurisdiction of the government. “On our part, we have launched a drive to check their antecedents. Their photographs are also being clicked to maintain their record,” he said.