4 BSF personnel killed in Pak firing

Four Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, including an assistant commandant-rank officer, were killed and three others were injured as Pakistan Rangers opened fire along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir in "betrayal" of a truce announced recently, officials said today.

The "unprovoked" firing in Ramgarh sector, which began last night, came days after the two border guarding forces, at a sector commander-level meeting on June 4, agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the IB.

"Since the ceasefire was on...the time we use to strengthen our defences. A team was going with defence material, Pakistan violated the ceasefire and fire at them with flat trajectory weapon followed by mortar firing. That is how the causality has taken place," Additional Director General (ADG) of BSF, Western Command, K N Chaubey, told reporters here.

Another team of the BSF led by Assistant Commandant Jitender Singh rushed to evacuate them and a mortar fired from Pakistan's Asraf Post exploded close to them at Chamliyal Border Out Post, resulting in fatal causalities, he said.

The BSF ADG said that it was very unfortunate and "the ceasefire announcement made and agreed is to be honoured".

"We have honoured it and Pakistan has not honoured it. And what Pakistan does is Pakistan's business and how we respond to betrayal is our job," he said.

Assistant Commandant Jitender Singh, SI Rajneesh, ASI Ramniwas and Constable Hansraj were killed in the Pakistani firing.

Eleven BSF troops have been killed in cross-border firing incidents along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir till date in 2018, the highest casualty figure for the border force in a year in the past five years, the latest data revealed.

Amid anti-Pakistan sloganeering, BSF personnel paid tributes to their four colleagues at a wreath laying ceremony organised at the force's frontier headquarters at Paloura in Jammu.

Asked whether the BSF would lodge a protest with Pakistan, the BSF ADG said, "Of course, it would." He asserted that it was premature to say if Pakistan Army's special operation team BAT was involved in the attack.

In a statement, the BSF said, "Around 2140 hours Pak Rangers Post Asraf started unprovoked firing on BOP Chamliyal with flat and high trajectory weapons. Retaliating this unprovoked fire, Jitender Singh, Assistant Commandant, SI Rajneesh, ASI Ramniwas, Constable Hansraj attained martyrdom. Three other bordermen received severe injuries. Injured BSF personnel have been evacuated to hospital."
The June 3 incident prompted the sector commander-level meeting on June 4, when