BSF men hurt in ‘first major ceasefire breach’

In one of the most serious breaches of the Indo-Pak ceasefire that has held for over three years now, Pakistani Rangers are said to have fired shots from across the border, injuring two Border Security Force personnel, in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu district late on Tuesday night. The exchange of fire that followed lasted around half an hour. Sources said that around 2.50 am on Wednesday, the Pakistanti Rangers opened fire to provide cover to militants attempting to infiltrate into Indian territory. The BSF personnel posted on the border fired back and reportedly foiled the bid.

It was a patrol party of the BSF that first noticed militants trying to infiltrate at the Matkula border outpost in Jammu district. The militants reportedly opened fire first, supported by firing from Pakistani Rangers, but the infiltration bid was foiled. A BSF sub-inspector, Avinash Kumar Chaturvedi, was shot in the chest while another jawan, Harish Chander, was injured.

Asked if the incident was a violation of the 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, the BSF spokesman said the situation is being monitored. He also pointed out that senior BSF authorities in New Delhi had been apprised of the development by Inspector General (IG), BSF, Jammu Frontier, S C Vaid.

Additional DIG Chauhan said ‘’around eight to 10 armed militants tried to infiltrate into Indian territory, which was immediately detected by the highly alert BSF patrol party. When challenged by the patrol party, militants opened fire on the patrol party.’’ He added: ‘’Although the militants were unsuccessful in breaching the fence as the BSF troops retaliated effectively, they fled from the site taking advantage of the thick sarkanda growth and dense foggy night. This infiltration attempt of the armed Pak militants was actively supported by Pak Rangers from their post Jung.’’