BSF, state police gun down two Pakistani intruders

Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, June 12

In a joint operation, personnel of the BSF and the state police today gunned down two Pakistani intruders and seized 15 kg of heroin worth Rs75 crore near the Sivana border observation post in the Fazilka sector.

One of their accomplices, who was injured, has been arrested. The security forces have also arrested two Indian smugglers, Gurdip Singh and Barjinder Singh of Tarn Taran district, who had allegedly come to receive the drug consignment.

Besides 15 kg heroin, one .12 bore rifle, a magazine, 67 live cartridges, two Pakistani pistols, one Pakistani mobile phone and two SIM cards were also seized.

Anil Palliwal, Inspector-General, BSF, Punjab frontier; Eapen PV, DIG, BSF; and Narinder Bhargav, SSP, Fazilka, in a press conference, said following a tip-off, the state police alerted the BSF.

Around 2.30 am today, the BSF ambush party and police officials noticed some movement across the barbed wire fence. The jawans challenged the intruders who opened fire on them. In the retaliatory fire, two intruders were killed, while another Ramzaan (35) of Kasur district in Pakistan was injured. On his arrest, he revealed the identity of the deceased as Soka and Pappa. Ramzaan, who was rushed to the local Civil Hospital, was shifted to Faridkot hospital.

Palliwal said: “The matter needs to be probed as we witnessed cover firing from the other side of the border which was made either by accomplices of the intruders or the Pakistani Rangers as the spot is just opposite the Pakistan observation post across the barbed wire fence.”

It was evident that the intruders had travelled about 100 metres inside the Indian Territory. A plastic pipe was lying near the cobra wire fencing.