BSF to probe how Samba terrorists crossed border

Denies reports the terrorists who carried out the twin terror strikes in Kathua and Samba districts of Jammu on September 26 had crossed the international border in the Hira Nagar sector

The Border Security Force (BSF) has denied media reports that the terrorists who carried out the twin terror strikes in Kathua and Samba districts of Jammu Sep 26 had crossed the international border (IB) in the Hira Nagar sector.

Earlier, media reports had indicated that the three terrorists who struck in Kathua and Samba, killing 12 people, had breached the border fence in the Hari Nagar sector of the international border. The three terrorists were also killed in the incident.

Additional Director General R.D. Singh of the BSF told reporters in Jammu Sunday that the fence had not been breached. "The fence has not been cut anywhere. I have examined the terrain myself. There are, however, so many nallahs (streams) along the IB. We have ordered a probe to find out how and where the terrorists crossed the border. The outcome of the probe would be known in two-to-three days."

The official also admitted that the fencing had been damaged by rain and flooding in the monsoon, and said the damaged stretches of the fence would soon be repaired.

Singh Sunday visited the posts and interacted with the troopers manning border posts in the Hira Nagar sector.

While the army mans the areas along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, troopers of the Border Security Force are posted along the international border (IB).

In the Jammu and Kashmir state legislative assembly in Srinagar Monday, National Panthers Party legislator Harsh Dev Singh asked how the terrorists travelled nearly 40 km inside Indian territory, using an autorickshaw and a truck. He also wanted to know how the terrorists slipped past border security personnel.