BSF team went 200m inside Pakistan examining terrorists' cross-border tunnel: Officials

A team of the Border Security Force (BSF), investigating the intrusion of four Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed recently at Nagrota in Jammu, had gone 200 metres inside Pakistani territory to find the mouth of a cross-border underground tunnel used by extremists to enter into India, top officials said on Tuesday to news agency PTI.

'Swift and intelligence-based action'

Immediately after the four Jaish terrorists were shot dead in a gunfight on November 19, the BSF, which mans the International Border in Jammu region, formed the crack team to explore the possible route taken by them. A 150-metre long underground tunnel suspected to be used by terrorists for infiltration was detected near International Border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba sector on November 22.

The team followed its structure to unearth the opening of the tunnel on the Indian side and during the search operation, electronic and geographical data found on a mobile device recovered from the terrorists was also used, the officials said.

"After detecting the mouth of the tunnel, the BSF team found itself 200 metres inside the Pakistani territory," they said, adding it entered through the tunnel and recorded the visuals inside it on the Pakistani side as part of collecting evidence before they returned to the Indian side. The operation was "swift and intelligence-based action", they said.

Security forces discover 'freshly dug tunnel'

The four Kashmir-bound Pakistani terrorists were killed in the gunfight after the truck, in which they were travelling, was stopped for checking at Ban toll plaza on the highway. Based on leads obtained after the encounter, the BSF had said, it was learnt that these terrorists "were picked up by a truck from Jatwal village in Samba on the national highway".

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The tunnel, it had said, was found by the "first light" on November 22 by the BSF crack team. The exit on the Indian side was in thick bushes carefully concealed and meticulously covered with soil and wild growth. "The mouth of the tunnel was strengthened and reinforced by sandbags with markings of Karachi, Pakistan," the border force that guards the front had said.

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"It was a freshly dug tunnel and appears to be used for the first time. It appears that proper engineering effort had gone in digging the tunnel which shows the hand of the establishment," the force said.

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Border Security Force (BSF) DG Rakesh Asthana on Tuesday, while giving a speech on the Raising Day also spoke about the operation and said, "On the basis of the analysis of mobile phones recovered from terrorists eliminated by security forces, on November 22, BSF unearthed a tunnel used by terrorists to infiltrate in Samba sector." Though the DG BSF didn't say anything on the operational part of it.

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(With agency inputs)