BSF jawan hacked to death by Pakistani forces along International Border near Jammu

JAMMU: In an unpleasant development which may further escalate tension between the two nuke-powered countries, a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was hacked to death by the Pakistani forces along the International Border (IB) near Jammu, said reports on Wednesday.

The slain BSF jawan's throat was slit by the Pakistani troops along the international border (IB) near Jammu on Tuesday, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

After the ''brutal'' and "unprecedented" incident, which took place in the Ramgarh sector, the security forces have issued a "high alert" across the entire IB and the Line of Control (LoC).

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force has lodged a strong complaint with its counterparts - the Pakistan Rangers.

Border Securty Force (BSF) has raised the issue of killing of its jawan with the Pakistan Rangers at the sector level. BSF has also sought Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) to raise the issue with Pakistan at its level.

— ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2018

Official sources said the body of Head Constable Narender Kumar also bore three bullet wounds and it could only be retrieved from a spot ahead of the Indo-Pak fence after over six hours as the Pakistani side "did not respond" to the calls to maintain the sanctity of the frontier and ensure that the BSF search parties were not fired upon.

The Pakistan Rangers, the sources said, was asked to take part in a joint patrolling to trace the missing jawan, but they only came up to a point and cited water-logging issues in the area that prevented them from undertaking a coordinated action.

The BSF then waited for the sun to set and launched a "risky operation" to bring the jawan's body back to the post.

Officials in the security establishment said the incident of brutality with the jawan, probably a first at the IB, was taken "very seriously" by the Government and the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) is also expected to take up the issue with its Pakistani counterparts.

They said since the BSF patrol party that went ahead of the fence to cut the tall "sarkanda" grass to clear the field was first fired upon at 10.40 AM on Tuesday, hectic phone calls and communication exchanges went on throughout the day from the Indian side to across the border in order to locate the body of the jawan, who was first declared missing. r Security Force (BSF) jawan was hacked to death by the Pakistani forces along the international border near Jammu, PTI quoted an official as saying on Wednesday.

Interestingly, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Monday said that the heads of Pakistani soldiers are being cut-off, but they are not being displayed.

"Kaat to Rahe Hain, Display Nahin Kar Rahen (heads are being cut off, but are not being displayed)," she said.

Sitharaman made these remarks during an interview to a television news channel.

Pointing that during election campaigns for 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had said that if Pakistan cut off heads of two Indian soldiers, India in retaliation would behead 10 Pakistani rangers, the interviewer asked, "During election campaigns, it was being said that if they (Pakistan) cut off heads of two Indian soldiers, we will behead heads of 10. Is it really happening?"

To which, Sitharaman said that the neighbouring country was once taught a lesson in 2016 when Indian Army carried out a surgical strike on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan.

The terrorists are not allowed to infiltrate into the country. They are being eliminated right at the borders, she added.

However, this is not the first time that the Pakistani forces had given an ''inhuman and barbaric treatment'' to the Indian soldiers.

Last year, the Pakistani forces had killed two Indian soldiers and mutilated their bodies after a targeted attack on frontier posts in Jammu and Kashmir - an act which was described as ''despicable'' by the Indian Army.

The slain soldiers were identified as Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh, a junior commissioned officer (JCO) with the Army’s 22 Sikh Regiment, and Head Constable Prem Sagar of the BSF’s 200 Battalion.

The 42-year-old Singh was from a village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, while Sagar was a native of Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.

The Government of India strongly condemned the barbaric act and said the country has full confidence and faith in its armed forces, which will react appropriately.