Border Security Force (BSF) troops shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab foiling arms smuggling bids in the Gurdaspur district, an official spokesperson Wednesday said. The troops recovered four Chinese-made pistols, along with eight magazines and 47 rounds. According to the spokesperson, the incident took place late Tuesday night when a BSF troop, deployed on the outskirts of the Uncha Takala village in the Gurdaspur district, heard some sound of a suspected drone which was coming from the Pakistan side. "The BSF troop reacted immediately and shot down the drone. During firing, they also heard the sound of an object which was dropped in the nearby area," the spokesperson said. "During the initial search of the area, a packet with a wooden base frame was found lying in the farming field on the outskirts of the Uncha Takala village. After opening, they recovered arms and ammunition. Detailed search of the area is in progress," the spokesperson said. The senior officials appreciated the vigilant BSF troops as they once again foiled the design of smugglers to smuggle contrabands/arms through drones. Last month, former BSF director general Pankaj Kumar Singh had said, "At present, the force does not have a foolproof system or solution to counter the menace posed by UAVs. However, we will find solutions in the times to come and we are increasingly detecting and killing drones. We are providing some very good monetary incentives to our troops who shoot down the drones. The force was now undertaking a forensic study of the seized drones, shot while entering from Pakistan, and they were getting useful information from the chips inserted in them like its flight path, launch pad and destination and the duration of the flight among other things."
