Panic among IB residents after BSF man’s mutilation

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 22

Panic has struck civilian areas along the International Border in the Jammu region after the Border Action Team of Pakistan mutilated Border Security Force Head Constable Narinder Singh on September 18.

Residents living close to the International Border (IB) have started leaving their homes, fearing there might be an exchange of fire.

On Thursday night, Pakistani Rangers resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing a few bursts of small arms in the Ramgarh sector, creating panic in the area. The guns, however, fell silent soon and the night passed off peacefully.

People living close to the IB are living in constant fear that Pakistan might again resort to mortar shelling.

“The mutilation of BSF Head Constable Narinder Singh was the first-of-its-kind incident on the IB. We haven’t seen anything like this since firing and shelling began on the IB. Panic has struck people and some of them living close to the IB shifted to safer places for a night after the killing,” said Rohit Choudhary, a farmer leader living along the IB. The BSF man was killed on September 18, a day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated two pilot projects of ‘smart fence’ on the International Border. The incident happened around 10.40 am and the BSF man’s mutilated body was found around 5.20 pm the same day.

“We have seen soldiers dying in shelling and firing, but such an incident was terrifying and people are living in fear since then,” Choudhary said. The Pakistan Rangers usually resort to unprovoked shelling and firing in the last week of October or the first week of November when the harvesting season is over.