Pakistan using underground tunnels to push terrorists: J&K DGP on inspecting 170m find

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Sunday said that Pakistan is using cross-border underground tunnels to push terrorists into India and drones to drop weapons for them. He made the comments after inspecting a 170m tunnel that was found last month in Samba district and said there is the possibility of such tunnels existing along the India-Pakistan border.

'Nefarious designs of Pakistan'

The Chief of Jammu and Kashmir police, however, said the anti-infiltration grid is active and anti-tunnelling operations are underway to scuttle "nefarious designs". "Digging such tunnels is a common tactic that Pakistan uses to send terrorists across the border. It is quite possible that other such tunnels exist along the India-Pakistan border," he said. 

The tunnel with a depth of 20-25 feet and originating from Pakistan was found by a BSF team near the border-fencing on August 28. "I saw this huge tunnel which is almost similar to the one detected in Chanyari in 2013-14. After the Nagrota encounter, we had received specific inputs that infiltration had taken place through a tunnel and was searching for it," the DGP said.

Three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were killed in the encounter in Nagrota in January this year. "The investigation is on but the ground indicators suggest that the tunnel was used by Pakistan in the past to push infiltrators," he said. Earlier, the BSF officials said the tunnel starts in Pakistan along the border and ends in Samba and could not have been built without the approval of Pakistani Rangers and other agencies

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On the recent recovery of sophisticated weapons, including an M-16 rifle, from a Kashmir-bound truck near Qazigund, he said the investigation is going on and it is believed that the arms were airdropped using drones in Samba sector. Dilbag Singh also reviewed the security situation in Jammu region's Udhampur, Kishtwar and Ramban districts, and appreciated efforts by his men in tackling multiple challenges with determination. He also lauded the efforts of the police personnel and other security forces in maintaining peace and order in the region.

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(With agency inputs)