By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, May 08
The Border Security Force (BSF) fired several rounds at a Pakistani drone in the Arnia sector in Jammu and made it to beat a retreat on late Saturday evening, a BSF spokesman said.
“A drone from the Pakistan side was observed coming towards the Indian side in the Arnia area at 7.25 pm with blinking light. The alert BSF troops fired around eight rounds to shoot down the drone immediately after it crossed into the Indian side, but it managed to fly back
Deputy Inspector General of BSF, Jammu Frontier, S P Sandhu said adding that the whole area was cordoned off and a search operation is underway to ensure that there is no airdropping of the payload by the drone.
On Saturday, the drone activity was noticed three days after the BSF detected an underground cross-border tunnel in the Chak Faquia area of the Samba district. On May 04, the BSF detected a cross-border tunnel originating inside Chak Faquira, Samba, thereby foiling nefarious designs of Pak-based terrorists to disrupt the upcoming Amarnath Yatra.
Pakistani intrusion continues
The Pakistani drones have continued to intrude the Indian territory and there have been many incidents of drone intrusion in the last two years. Nov 28, 2020: A Pakistani drone was spotted by the BSF in the Arnia sector along the 198 km-long international borders.
June 27, 2021: Two explosives-laden drones crashed into the Indian Air Force station at Jammu airport in the early hours leading to two low-intensity explosions in the technical area of Jammu Air Force Station. One caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area.
June 28, 2021: Army personnel spotted and fired at two drones found hovering over the Kaluchak military station along the Jammu Pathankot National Highway on the intervening night of June 27-June 28, 2021.
July 02, 2021: The BSF personnel fired at a small hexacopter when it was trying to cross International Border in the Armia sector. July 24, 2021: J & K police shot down one drone, carrying a five kg improvised explosive device in the Kanachak area.
On February 24: The Special Operations Group (SOG) and Jammu police recovered arms and ammunition dropped by the Pakistani drone in the Arnia area. March 05: The BSF fired at a suspected Pakistani drone in Jammu’s Arnia area of RS Pura sector in Jammu district, in the wee hours.
Drones can have significant economic implications, including the ability to deliver supplies, provide reconnaissance and serve as elements of attack and defence.
