Migrant labourers had said they were thrashed by two ultras at Bahia village
TIBRI (GURDASPUR): With some migrant labourers complaining to the Tibber police that they were thrashed by two suspected Pakistani militants in sugarcane fields of Bahia village opposite Tibri Military Station on Saturday, security agencies launched a search operation for the terrorists in Mann, Chopra, Tibri, Shorhian Bangar and Kotli Sainian villages on Sunday.
HT FILESecurity forces have been searching for two suspected terrorists at Tibri and other villages near the military station since Saturday.
Sleuths of Punjab Police, the army, the Border Security Force (BSF) and Israel-trained SWAT (Special Weapons Attack Team) have been pressed into service for the joint search operation.
Gurdaspur senior superintendent of police Gurpreet Singh Toor confirmed that a search operation had been launched, but refused to share details on the plea that this could hamper the search.
He added that Tibri Military Station, 5km from Gurdaspur city, on the Gurdaspur-Mukerian Road, could be a possible target.
After a similar search at Pandher village search was called off on Wednesday, there have at least two instances where villagers claim to have seen the two terrorists.
On Friday, Lavpreet Singh (22), a resident of Tibri village, had claimed that he was stopped by two Pakistani terrorists. Unconfirmed reports of terrorists hiding in the fields of Virk-Talwandi village had also been reported at the Tibber police station.
BSF works to plug gaps along Indo-Pak border
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE? Top officials camping in the area to ensure the porous borders, used by smugglers till now, are secured
PATHANKOT: The Border Security Force has increased surveillance in the Bamiyal sector along the Pakistan border in Punjab, believed to be a transit point for smugglers, drug traffickers and terrorists because of stretches of “gaping holes” in the heavilyguarded boundary.
HT FILEThe BSF has sprung into action and erected more barbed wires and surveillance equipment such as high-beam lights along the border.
Pakistan-based terrorists reportedly sneaked through this porous border to lay siege on the Pathankot air base recently, as did their comrades to attack Dinanagar police station some months ago.
The BSF came under severe criticism for the “gaps” in the border fence.
The complex geography and topography of the area — compounded by a fast-running Ravi river and swampland of tall grasses on its banks — make it difficult to build a continuous fence of barbed wires along the border.
About 750 metres of land were without a fence at many points because of the river terrain.
The BSF spokesperson said senior officers were camping at the frontier village of Bamiyal since the Pathankot attack and overseeing work to strengthen the surveillance system.
BSF special director-general MK Singla was reportedly visiting areas where the border has remained porous. He was said to be leading a team of BSF officers to fortify vulnerable points with modern equipment.
To plug the gaps, the paramilitary force has installed highbeam lights and other equipment to detect movements.
The spokesperson said the BSF has added at least six more companies and a process was initiated to deploy 800 more personnel to guard the area. “We have placed more barbed wires, modern surveillance equipment and more boats to tackle the fast current of the Ravi,” he said.