The Centre on Monday ordered the Border Security Force (BSF) to find out how the terrorists eliminated in the Gurdaspur attack breached the International Border despite heightened security.
The decision came after a high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended among others by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary lC Goyal, BSF Director General DK Pathak and top officials of paramilitary and Intelligence agencies.
“I don’t know whether it (attack) is big or small. It is serious,” Doval told reporters after the meeting that was called to take stock of the situation. He was replying to a question on whether the Gurdaspur incident was a big terror attack.
In the meeting, the Home Minister directed the BSF to remain on high alert and find out how the three terrorists could breach the IB and entered India from Pakistan. later the participants of the high-level meeting apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the situation.
“It is a serious violation and the BSF, which guards the IB, has been asked to find out how did the border was breached despite vigil and fencing,” a senior official, who was privy to the discussion, said.
After the meeting, an official spokesperson said the Home Minister appreciated the Punjab Government for the successful operation by the Punjab Police. Various measures were discussed in the meeting to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.The International Border in Jammu has in the past been used by the militants to infiltrate into the Indian side to launch terrorist attacks in the region.
“Because of the nature of the situation in the State, our security forces, including Army, BSF and police, are always on alert, but following Monday’s terrorist attack in Dinanagar area of Punjab, we have further beefed up security in the Jammu region,” Deputy Inspector General of Police, (Jammu-Kathua range) Ashkoor (rpt) Ashkoor Wani told the media in Jammu.
He said that the Border Security Force guarding the International Border in Jammu knows the situation and they always maintain a high alert to foil any nefarious designs of the terrorist. “See the BSF is guarding the International Border in Jammu, after the BSF we have army and after the army the Jammu and Kashmir is there, so there is a three tier security on the IB”, Wani said.
Wani said that nothing can be left on chance as in the past too, the militants had launched two attacks in quick succession in Jammu. “In the month of March terrorist attacked a police station in Kathua
and the second attack they launched was in Samba, so we cannot leave anything on chance”, the DIG said.
He said that the inspector general of police (Jammu) has been touring the border areas since morning to take stock of the security arrangements.
Earlier in the afternoon, lok Sabha condemned the terror attack and asked the government to use all the force to quell terrorism which continues to threaten the nation. Home Minister Rajnath Singh will make a statement on the incident in Parliament on Tuesday.
leader of Congress Mallikarjun Khargecondemned the attack but said there was an intelligence failure on part of the central government. This elicited sharp reaction from Parliamentary Affairs Minister
M Venkaiah Naidu, who said, “This is a very serious issue. This is a national issue. Trying to find fault with the government when the encounter is on, this is not done... This is not the time to score points.”
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister also emphasised that the House should have one voice on this matter.
