The Border Security Force (BSF) on Sunday detected a cross-border tunnel from Pakistan apparently used by four terrorists from Jaish, who were eliminated at the Ban toll plaza near Nagrota on Thursday.
BSF Inspector General NS Jamwal said: “The tunnel, which has entered about 160 meters into Indian territory, has been detected near the Regal post in the Samba sector on Sunday.”
The IGP said: “It was used by four Jaish terrorists, who were killed at the Ban toll plaza on Thursday morning. The tunnel originated from the Pak Rangers’ Chak Bhura outpost and was reinforced by small wooden boards. It was excavated 20 feet deep and 3 feet wide. We have recovered ropes and Pakistan made sandbags with Karachi written on them also found at the mouth of the tunnel to hide it. “
Look | BSF detects tunnel in Samba, suspicious link with terrorists killed in Nagrota
Jamwal further said that the tunnel established Pakistan’s participation in the Ban toll plaza meeting.
“We are going to present a strong protest to the Rangers with all the evidence and photographs,” he added.
A senior intelligence official said the four terrorists were in constant contact with their handlers in Pakistan via digital mobile radio.
The handlers, in the Shakargarh area of the Narowal district of Punjab in Pakistan, had asked the terrorists about their whereabouts and if they had arrived safely. The recovered digital mobile radio has been manufactured by a Pakistani company Micro Electronics and a QMobile smartphone.
In addition, a wireless device and a GPS device have also been recovered.
It should be recalled here that the four Jaish terrorists, believed to be Pakistani nationals, had infiltrated India from the Samba sector on Thursday night along with a large shipment of weapons and ammunition, including six AK- rifles. 56, five AK-47 rifles. , three pistols, 16 AK magazines, a pack of RDX, 20 Chinese hand grenades, six UBGL grenades and 20 kg of explosive.
Acting with intelligence information, the security forces intercepted the truck carrying the terrorists at around 4.50 am at the Ban toll plaza near Nagrota in the Jammu district. The terrorists were shot dead in the shooting that followed. Two security agents were injured in the operation. They are said to be stable.
“A few days ago, (Jaish founder Masood Azhar’s brother) Abdul Rauf Asghar, alias Rauf Lala, was seen across the international border in the Shakargarh area of Narowal district. The area has launch pads (to push terrorists into India), ”said an official who requested anonymity.
Intelligence agencies had warned of a possible infiltration attempt and a major terrorist attack on November 26 (coinciding with the Mumbai attacks of 2008 and just before the start of the local body’s elections), the official said.
It added that the personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Special Operations Group and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were trained.
The truck carrying the terrorists had a false license plate, according to officials who have identified the vehicle. He was seen at 8.31pm on November 1 in Lakhanpur when he crossed into Punjab. He returned to Lakhanpur with rice grains from Punjab around 10.33 am on November 9, they added.
The truck was not seen on the highway from November 10 to 18. On November 19, he was seen at the Sarore toll plaza in the Samba district on the Pathankot-Jammu highway at 3.43 am, where he paid the toll tax, authorities said. He arrived at the Ban toll plaza, the meeting place, around 4:45 am via Bajalta Chowk on the Sidhra turnoff of Jammu district, according to investigators.
According to them, the terrorists were asked to surrender but they fired at the security forces and threw grenades at them. The truck, loaded with sacks of rice, caught fire during the encounter. While the weapons were silent, the bodies of the terrorists were recovered from the truck. Officials said Pakistani-branded drugs recovered from the terrorists showed that they infiltrated from across the border.
“Once in Indian territory, it is not a big problem for these terrorists, trained in guerilla warfare, to cover the distance from the international border to the Jammu-Pathankot highway, and the possibility that sleeper cells on the Indian side help them. “added the official.
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