The Border Security Force (BSF) on Sunday detected a cross-border tunnel in the Samba sector that was used by four Jaish terrorists, who were eliminated at the Ban toll plaza near Nagrota on Thursday, senior law enforcement officials said.
BSF Inspector General NS Jamwal said: “The tunnel, which has entered about 160 meters into Indian territory, was detected near the Regal post in the Samba sector on Sunday.”
The IGP further said: “It was used by the four Jaish terrorists, who were killed at the Ban toll plaza on Thursday morning.”
“The tunnel originated from the Pak Rangers’ Chak Bhura post and was reinforced by small wooden boards. It was dug 20 feet deep underground and has a diameter of three feet, ”he reported.
“We have recovered ropes and 10 to 15 sandbags that were used to support it (in its mouth),” said BSF IG. He added that the sandbags had markings from Karachi, Pakistan. The BSF detected it around 12:30 pm on Sunday.
Jamwal further said that the tunnel established Pakistan’s participation beyond any doubt in the Ban toll plaza encounter.
“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.
“Kahan pahunche, kya soorat e haal hai. Koi mushkil toh nahi ”, these texts were sent to the four terrorists.
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.
“The messages were sent by a handler in Shakargarh,” the official said.
In addition, a wireless device and a GPS device have also been recovered.
The four Jaish terrorists, believed to be Pakistani nationals, had infiltrated India from the Samba sector on Thursday night along with a huge shipment of weapons and ammunition, including six AK-56 rifles, five AK rifles. -47, three pistols, 16 AK magazines, a pack of RDX, 20 Chinese hand grenades, six UBGL grenades and 20 kg of explosive.
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Acting based on intelligence contributions, the security forces intercepted the truck that was transporting
terrorists around 4.50 am at the Ban tollgate 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 one of the officials quoted above, requesting 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), said this official. He said that staff from the Jammu and Kashmir Police Special Operations Group and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were ready.
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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 between November 10 and 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 investigators, the terrorists were asked to surrender, but they fired at the 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 inside the truck. Officials said the Pakistani-branded drugs found on the terrorists showed they were infiltrated from across the border.
“Once in Indian territory, it is not a big problem for these terrorists, trained in guerrilla 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 this official.
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