BSF officer killed in Samba sniper fire

Amir Karim Tantray & Sanjay Pathak
Tribune news service
Jammu/Kathua, January 15

A BSF Assistant Commandant was killed in Pakistani sniper fire from across the International Border (IB) in Samba sector this morning.

The slain officer has been identified as Vinay Prasad of 19 Battalion. He was a resident of Chapra district, Bihar.

A Border Security Force spokesperson said around 10.50 am, BSF troops on border domination were fired upon by a Pakistan sniper at Pansar outpost, resulting in grievous injuries to Prasad.

“The injured officer was evacuated to the Satwari military hospital, Jammu, where he succumbed to his injuries,” the spokesperson said. “The DG, BSF, and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of the martyr. Offering condolences to the family of bereaved, the BSF stands by them in this hour of grief,” he added.

The BSF retaliated with limited fire after the incident, but there was no information of any loss on the other side.

This is the first incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistan Rangers along the 198-km IB this year. Last year witnessed around 500 incidents of ceasefire violation along the IB in which 13 BSF personnel were killed and over 50 injured, the highest in the past eight years.

From 1999 to 2003, firing and shelling had become routine along the IB, leading to casualties among civilians as well as the BSF. After both countries agreed to a ceasefire in 2003, the situation turned peaceful. But after 2010, the Pakistan Rangers have been regularly violating the truce agreement.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in Sunderbani sector on the Line of Control (LoC) around 10 am. The Indian Army retaliated in equal measure. There were no reports of loss of life or property.