Some reports suggest that the Centre has empowered the BSF to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside the Indian territory from the international border.
Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, is reportedly using individuals under the influence of drugs or posing as mentally disturbed to infiltrate India and deliver messages to terrorists in prisons. Officials have reported over 10 such cases since July, with individuals entering from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and being sent to prisons in Jammu, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Security agencies suspect these individuals are couriers tasked with relaying communication to jailed terrorists. The ISI's tactic is believed to be a response to the increased use of technology in communication, which leaves behind electronic footprints. This method of infiltration has also been linked to drug smuggling operations. The ISI's current tactic is reminiscent of its past use of "sawari operators" on the Samjhauta Express for covert operations, which were effectively curtailed by authorities.
BSF director general (DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh on Tuesday said that the "demographic balance" has been upset in border-states like Assam and West Bengal over a period of time and that was probably the reason that the Centre recently extended the force's jurisdiction.
He also said if security forces, the Union Territory administration and people come together, then terrorism could be eliminated from the region in a year.
The Centre has amended the BSF Act to authorise the force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of the existing 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
The movie star took a break from a film shoot in Amritsar to visit a BSF campus.
In a letter to the chief minister, Dhankhar urged Banerjee to take appropriate steps urgently and address the issue in public and national interest.
In a fillip to the ambitious Agnipath scheme, the Union home ministry has announced 10 per cent reservation for former Agniveers in vacancies in the Border Security Force (BSF) with relaxations in the upper age limit.
His father Prakash Singh, who is known for introducing several police reforms and has been awarded Padma Shri as well, had served as the BSF DG from 1993-94.
Soon after the incident, a senior BSF official said that an alert was issued and a search operation was conducted near Dera Baba Nanak (DBN) check post.
"The decision of extending the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) from 15 km to 50 km by the Union Government is an expression of distrust towards the state Police and people of Punjab. This is their insult too," the resolution passed unanimously by the state Legislative Assembly stated.
Guha's remark drew a sharp reaction from the BJP, which termed it as an 'insult to the security forces'.
West Bengal, which is governed by the Trinamool Congress, became the second state after Congress-ruled Punjab, where such a resolution has been tabled and passed.
Amid a row over the extension of the territorial jurisdiction of the Border Security Force in Punjab, a top officer of the border guarding force on Saturday said the powers of the state police remain intact and the BSF is only there to complement it.
Constables Anand Oraon and Sunder Singh have been awarded the PMG for thwarting smuggling bids by armed smugglers along the India-Bangladesh international border in West Bengal.
In continuation of the search operation started on Wednesday afternoon in the Harami Nalla area of Bhuj in Gujarat where eight Pakistani boats were seized, three more boats were seized on Thursday.
The incident took place on Monday around 8:30 pm in Chhana village of the district, a BSF spokesperson said.
The Union government had recently amended the BSF Act to authorise the border guarding force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a 50 km stretch, up from the existing 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
Religare Enterprises, a financial services firm, has disclosed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned down its application to appoint Rakesh Asthana as its whole-time director in May this year without citing any reasons. Asthana is a former top official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In a notice to the stock exchanges, Religare said that while the company and Asthana were weighing the options of dealing with the letter of refusal by the RBI, it was also busy in preparing for the "herculean task" of making ready multiple applications to regulators.
Nine-year-old Jaimini Soni's extraordinary feat.
The unmanned aerial vehicle flew back to Pakistan after the Border Security Force troops fired at it Saturday night, they said.
Security agencies could track the flight path and even address of criminals involved in this cross-border illegal activity that is rearing its head over the last few years, he said on Saturday.
"Two BSF constables got surrounded and were badly hurt (by the miscreants). It was then that they opened fire in self-defence. They fired a few rounds in the air. Later it was found that two persons on that side of the border had died in the firing," BSF Additional Director General Y B Khurania said.
A BSF jawan allegedly shot himself dead after killing his colleague at a camp in West Bengal's border town of Murshidabad on Monday, officials said.
Trade between India and Bangladesh via land ports came to a standstill on Sunday as there was no movement of cargo trucks to and fro due to the ongoing student protests in the neighbouring country, officials said. The Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole landport remained non-functional, they said. Nearly one-third of land-based trade between India and Bangladesh takes place through Petrapole.
'As the pigeon is a bird, I don't think an FIR can be registered against it. But we have referred the matter to our legal experts for their opinion', said SSP Dhruv Dahiya
The Union Budget 2024-25 on Tuesday allocated Rs 2,19,643 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of it -- Rs 1,43,275 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding, and security of vital installations.
"BSF troops observed a Pakistani intruder who crossed the IB and attempted to sneak over the fence. He was challenged but he still crossed the fence and ran towards the other side."
Speaking in the assembly, Banerjee, in an apparent reference to BJP president J P Nadda's recent remark on violence and corruption in Bengal, asserted that her state happens to have a better law and order situation than other parts of the country.
He said the force, which guards over 6,300 km of India's land border with Pakistan in the west and Bangladesh on the east, is faced by four main challenges on the security front.
Thirty-six intrepid riders from the BSF Seema Bhawani All-Women Daredevil Motorcycle Team have set out on a pan-India journey with an important message -- there is nothing that can stop women from achieving their dreams.
The situation remained calm but tense in Manipur's Imphal Valley, where an indefinite curfew has been imposed and internet services suspended following violent protests after the discovery of the bodies of six persons, three women and children each, allegedly abducted and killed by militants in Jiribam.
BSF's role has become more important now as we are the first line of Indian defence, said DG Rakesh Asthana.
Once identified, these individuals are drawn into private groups where they are exposed to manipulative content, including fabricated videos depicting atrocities allegedly committed by security forces, the officials said.
A Chinese national apprehended while trying to cross the India-Bangladesh border illegally has told the investigators that he and his associates have smuggled as many as 1,300 Indian SIM cards into their country by hiding them in undergarments, the BSF said.
The statement assured that "security forces are on high alert to protect the lives and property of citizens. All communities are assured of their safety," and advised the public to "not believe in any rumors or unverified news."
The Chinese-made drone was downed on Friday around 11:10 pm near the Wan border post in the Ferozepur sector.
The arrested BSF man, identified as Mohammad Sajjad, is a native of Sarola village in the Rajauri district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, who was deployed in the 74 BSF Battalion at Bhuj in July 2021, the ATS said in a release.
A man from Tripura's Sepahijala district returned home after spending 37 years in Bangladesh jails.
In a move aimed at maintaining 'zero tolerance' against terrorism and cross border crimes, the Centre has empowered the Border Security Force to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside Indian territory from the international border along India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders.
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