7 Pak rangers killed: What provoked such a response from BSF?

A recent sniping incident resulted in seven Pakistani rangers being killed

Bengaluru, Oct 22: The killing of seven Pakistani rangers by the Border Security Force (BSF) recently is the heaviest casualty inflicted in the past five years. The trigger was a sniping incident at the International Border in which one Indian armed personnel was injured.

While Pakistan claims that no ranger on their side has been killed, BSF officials say that this is false. "We have intercepts of the Pakistan wireless communication which confirm that seven of their men have been killed. We have inflicted heavy casualty on their side," the officer also informed.

The trigger was a sniping incident along the International Border. Constable Gurnam Singh was standing guard at the Hiranagar sector along the IB. On the intervening night of October 19-20, BSF had prevented an infiltration bid. The sniping incident took place 24 hours later. Singh was admitted to hospital in a critical condition.

Two days back, BSF held a flag meeting with the Pakistani Rangers and broached the subject of infiltration, but the same was denied. This is when the BSF decided that a strong reply had to be given.

As BSF launched the offensive, Pakistani rangers attempted to reach out on the hotline. However, BSF did not respond to it. BSF managed to kill seven rangers and a militant.

The sniping incident was unprovoked, says an officer. "Since the two forces held a meeting in August last years such incidents have not been reported. Even after the September 29 surgical strikes, there was no provocation along the International Border. This incident, however, needed a strong reply and hence we decided to inflict heavy casualty on them," the officer also said.

OneIndia News