Security along the Pakistan border, particularly the Punjab-Rajasthan intersection, was heightened after intelligence agencies intercepted chatter that a group of 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were trying to infiltrate into the Indian territory. This is the first time that such telephonic conversation has been intercepted for the Punjab-Rajasthan sector and has set the alarm bells ringing among the security establishment. The sector, which is fenced, has not seen infiltration attempts in many years now.
The Border Security Force (BSF), which mans the border, has heightened vigil and added three layers of security to the region.
“We have received credible intelligence inputs about attempts being made by at least 10 LeT militants to cross over to India. The BSF has been asked to guard each and every inch of land. We have been receiving such inputs for the past 10 days now,” said a senior government official.
The alert comes in the wake of the Gurdaspur attack in Punjab, close to the border with Pakistan. Three LeT militants were gunned down by the Punjab police a fortnight ago in the Dinanagar area of Gurdaspur. Seven others, including four policemen, were killed in the attack.
“Even Gurdaspur was an unusual target as there were regular attempts to infiltrate from the Jammu sector. Though the GPS coordinates show that they entered after swimming through river Ravi, we are yet to correlate it to the ground,” said a senior Home Ministry official.
An official said there were attempts by terrorists to open up new frontiers of infiltration from across the border, apart from the usual attempts being made along the International Border (IB) in the Jammu sector and the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kashmir valley.
