Ceasefire violations spiked from 2015 to 2018: Govt

The ceasefire violations (CFVs) along the Line of Control (LoC) have witnessed a huge rise from 2015 to 2018, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State (MoS) in the Defence Ministry Subhash Bhamre said that there were 152 cases of CFVs in 2015.

He stated in the written response that it increased to 228 and 860 in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Furthermore, Bhamre underlined that till July 23 of year, already 942 cases of CFVs were reported.

In terms of cross-border firings along the international border, there were 253 cases reported in 2015, which dropped further to 211 and 111 in 2016 and 2017.

However, the incidents of cross-border firings jumped up to 490 till June this year alone. Bhambre stated that 44 Army personnel lost their lives between 2015 to 2018, while 25 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed in the last three years.

At least 69 civilians were also killed in cross-border firing and CFV related incidents between 2015 to 2018.

The amount announced and paid as ex-gratia for each victim was Rs. 15 lakhs in 2015, when it was increased to Rs. 35 lakhs since 2016, Bhambre said in a written response.

In cross-border infiltration incidents, while no officer was killed in 2015 and 2016, an officer lost his life in 2017.

Four Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) were killed between 2015 and 2017, while 29 of those from Other Ranks (ORs) lost their lives in cross-border infiltration incidents in the last two years. Two officers, five JCOs, and 77 ORs were injured in such incidents between 2015 and 2018.

While 72 civilians were killed, 235 others were injured in cross-border infiltration incidents in the last three years.

In terms of terrorist activities, 13 officers, seven JCOs, and 134 ORs were killed between 2015 and 2018. At least 30 officers, 12 JCOs, and 192 ORs sustained injuries in terror-related incidents in the last three years.