Govt refuses Army's claim of infiltration bid in Keran

Points out there is no evidence on ground to suggest any infiltration bid

Amid questions over what happened during the long intrusion by infiltrators from Pakistan in Keran sector, Government has refused to accept claims of Army, saying there was no evidence on ground to suggest any infiltration bid.

At a high-level security meeting here recently, it was also felt that Army should fortify the "reception area" to trap militants who escape from the anti-infiltration grid-- which extends 4 to 5 km on the Indian side from the Line of Control(LoC)-- after they cross over, official sources said today.

The "reception area" is usually located at a place five km from the LoC which is set up by the Army to neutralise all those militants who manage to give a slip to troops at the border.

The meeting was of the view that the veracity of the much talked about infiltration bid from Pakistan, believed to be from its special forces, from Shalabhatu, a village split between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, was in doubt as evidence for the same was not available with any other agency., the sources said. Shalabatu village was one of the much used infiltration route in early 1990s.

The meeting, in which a representative of Army had also participated, also took into account the technical intelligence which apparently did not back up any claims made by the Army, the sources said.

The Army has already rejected all doubts expressed over the Keran operation and asserted that the troops on the ground were dominating the LoC and regularly approaching their own posts all the time. The Keran operation was called off nearly two weeks after it began in the last week of August.