BSF gives Rs 1 lakh reward to teams bringing down Pakistan drones

New Delhi, December 30

A cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to its “hit” team, an assortment of jammers and spoofers, and multi-layered patrols by security personnel are some of the measures taken by the Border Security Force (BSF) to check infiltration of drones carrying drugs and arms from Pakistan into India.

According to the official data, 2022 witnessed a massive increase in the number of drone “onslaughts”; majority of them were sighted in Punjab. Such sightings have gone up three times the previous year.

Officials said each of the BSF “hit” team at the border that brings down a drone through rifle firing or using jamming technology is being rewarded with a cash incentive of Rs one lakh. This has been decided with an aim to motivate the troopers battling drone menace, they said.

Similar reward was announced by the Jalandhar-based Punjab frontier of the force in April for civilians living in the border areas who inform the BSF about those involved in using drones to get drugs and arms from Pakistan.

Till December 25, the BSF downed 22 drones and reward of Rs 1 lakh each has been given to more than 10 “hit” or shooting teams deployed at the front. The awardee could be a single trooper or more than one on a case-by-case basis, said officials.

According to the official data, drone sightings along the 2,289-km-long India-Pakistan International Border (IB), running along Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, has gone up from 77 in 2020 to 104 last year and 311 this year (till December 25). Almost 75 per cent of sightings have been recorded in Punjab, where drones have been majorly used by the other side to drop drugs and weapons.

The force has deployed an assortment of electronic jammers and spoofers to block the frequencies and navigation path of these narcotics and weapon-carrying drones, leading to their immobilisation.

10 teams awarded

• Till Dec 25, the BSF downed 22 drones
• A reward of Rs 1 lakh each has been given to more than 10 ‘hit’ or shooting teams deployed at the front
• An awardee could be a single trooper or more than one on a case-by-case basis

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