Pakistan troops slit BSF jawan's throat; high alert sounded along border
JAMMU/NEW DELHI: Pakistani troops have slit the throat of a BSF jawan along the international border (IB) near Jammu, an incident that may further escalate the tension between the two countries.
The brutal and "unprecedented" incident that took place in the Ramgarh sector on Tuesday has prompted the security forces to issue a "high alert" across the entire IB and the Line of Control (LoC) even as the Border Security Force has lodged a strong complaint with its counterparts -- the Pakistan Rangers.
DG #BSF and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of Head Constable Narender Kumar & offer condolence to the family of the braveheart.
— BSF (@BSF_India) September 19, 2018
HC Narender attained martyrdom on 18 Sep,2018 in an unprovoked Pak firing across #Jammu #IB#अमरप्रहरी#BharatKeVeer pic.twitter.com/zQx7N3f4HU
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 India-Pakistan 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 and the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) were also expected to take up the issue with their Pakistani counterparts.
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
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.
Courtesy: timesofindia
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“Full prepared..going to win,” Congress MP KC Venugopal ahead of Kerala polls
EC not functioning as a neutral institution: Venugopal
Congress MP K. C. Venugopal on Monday raised concerns over the election schedule announced by the Election Commission of India for the upcoming Kerala Assembly election, questioning the timing of the poll dates and alleging that the schedule leaves limited time for campaigning.
Speaking to news agency ANI in Delhi after the poll panel announced elections in five states and Union Territories, Venugopal said that the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are fully prepared for the elections and confident of victory. At the same time, he questioned the pattern of dates announced by the Election Commission.
“We are fully prepared, we are going to win the elections... You can see how the Election Commission has set the dates. The first phase of elections is on the 9th, nominations are due until the 23rd, scrutiny is on the 24th, nominations can be withdrawn until the 26th, and after that, there are 11 days for campaigning,” he said.
“As for Kerala, there is Easter and Good Friday in the first week...The Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier... The counting date is on May 4th, so what was the point of holding elections in Kerala so early? What is their intention behind holding elections on the same day in Kerala, Puducherry, and Assam?... We are confident that we will win, but the people of the country are seeing the biased attitude of the Election Commission...,” he added.
He further stated that his party was ready for elections irrespective of the dates announced by the poll body.
“We are going to win the election. India's strategy has been set up. And we are all ready for winning this election. But one thing as far as declaring election, even though they are giving only for five days, we are going to win the election. We have no problem,” he said.
Detailing the poll schedule while questioning the time available for campaigning, he stated, “but you can see the pattern of date which the election commission announced. Yesterday they declared election, and today they notified us. The first phase of election on April 9th, filing of nomination will be over on the 23rd of this month, 24th scrutiny, 26th withdrawal of nomination. After 26, four plus seven, 11 days campaign.”
“As far as Kerala is concerned, April first week is a holy week. The holiday week means, Good Friday is there. Nobody will do anything on Good Friday. Easter is the big festival. These festivals are natural, you have to see that. Among the 11 days, working days, two, three days will go for holidays. Then hardly seven, eight days for campaigning in this election for candidates,” the Congress MP questioned.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier if there was a need for an early election schedule.
Questioning the urgency behind placing Kerala in the first phase of polling, he added that the counting date is much later.
“Which is the date of counting? Fourth May. Then what is the urgency of putting Kerala in the first phase without giving sufficient time for candidates? And putting Kerala, Puducherry, Assam together, what is the intention behind that?” Venugopal questioned.
He also alleged that the Election Commission was not functioning as a neutral institution.
“The Election commission is completely losing that capacity as a neutral player. You can see 14 of our prime minister's programs over and on the 15th they announce the election, 16th notification comes,” he said.
Venugopal further stated that such tactics would not affect the Congress’ prospects in the election.
“They think that this type of techniques and tactics, because of these techniques and tactics, UDF is going to lose, and Congress is going to lose. This is their complete dream only. This is not going to happen. We are very much confident at any cost, whether they are not giving any time also, we are going to win the election,” he said.
“But the people of India are watching this. The tricks of the election commission. To restrict the campaign, people of India are watching. This I want to bring into the notice of the nation. That's all,” Venugopal said.
The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for the Kerala Assembly election. Polling in the state will be held in a single phase on April 9 while the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4.
