BSF detects cross-border tunnel portion at IB, lodges protest

The Border Security Force has detected a portion of a caved-in tunnel in Samba district, near the International Border, which is the latest alignment point of the 400-meter long cross-border tunnel which was found in July two years ago, BSF officials said today.

"A caved-in portion of a tunnel in Chillyari border belt in Samba district was found 23 meters away, inside Indian territory, from pillar number 170 on Zero-line on International Border, a few days back", senior BSF officers said today.

The tunnel was detected during clearing of the thick and tall bushes, which had come up on the Zero-line along the Indo-Pak border in Samba sector, they said. Giving further details, they said, the tunnel's dimension is 3x3 feet.

It is the latest alignment point of the 400-meter long cross-border tunnel which was found along the International Border on July 28, 2012, they added. In this regard, BSF authorities have handed over a protest note to Pak Rangers over the tunnel issue, officials said.

The detection of caved-in-portion of this tunnel close to border has exposed Pakistan, that cross-border tunnel was dug from Pakistan side into the Indian territory to carry out infiltration and smuggling from across the border, which was denied by Pakistan in the past, they said.

Asked whether BSDF will take up the issue with Pakistan, a BSF Officer said "Director General of BSF will take a call on that what is to be done further".

"When we were trying to dig over the tunnel alignment towards Pakistan, troops from across the border fired on excavators and men and stopped us", he said.

BSF authorities on July 28, 2012 had detected a 400-meter tunnel into India from Pakistan along Indo-Pak Border in Chillyari forward belt of Samba district.

The tunnel was detected after an area caved-in a straight line at two to three places due to rains near border fencing near Chillayari Border Out Post (BoP) of BSF along International Border (IB) in Samba sector due. 

The tunnel has been dug out between two sides along IB on India's Chillayari BOP and Pakistan's Numberiyal BOP.

The area was dug out by excavators and bulldozers and large number of BSF men. The tunnel's dimension of 3x3 feet is about 400 meters into Indian side from the IB, where pillars of demarcation stand.

The credit of discovering the tunnel in 2012 goes to a 12th class student Sukhdev, who first had first seen his farm land caved in and had informed BSF.

Asserting that the tunnel built inside Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba sector from Pakistan goes against the confidence building measures (CBMs) initiated between the two countries, the then Director General (DG), BSF, U K Bansal had termed it as a serious security concern and said that any such attempt are likely to vitiate the atmosphere of the border as BSF has sounded a alert along the border line.

"This (discovery of tunnel in Indian territory) is definitely something which goes against the CBMs which are being initiated between two countries (India and Pakistan)",Bansal had told reporters after inspecting 400-meter long tunnel in Indian territory in Chachwal border belt of Samba sector, 2012.

"Apparently when they could not succeed to breach the fence and security on the surface (for infiltration), they resorted to digging of the tunnel", former DG BSF had said.