Dropped by Pak drone, arms seized in Jammu

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 3

The security forces today seized a cache of arms near the International Border (IB) areas in Jammu, which was believed to have been dropped by a drone from Pakistan, the police said.

Officials said the recovery was made after the forces detected a packet at Sounjana village in Phalain Mandal, which is about 6 km from the border, late on Saturday night following information from a villager about a humming sound and dropping of a payload by a suspected drone from Pakistan.

Alert villager informs police

• A resident of Sounjana village in Phalain Mandal informed the police that he heard humming sound and dropping of a payload by a suspected drone from Pakistan
• An AK assault rifle, three magazines, 30 rounds and a telescope seized

The dropped packet contained an AK assault rifle, three magazines, 30 rounds and a telescope.

The police immediately cordoned the village and launched a search operation during which a yellow packet and a wooden base to carry the payload was found, leading to the recovery of the arms and ammunition, officials said, adding that a case had been registered and efforts were on to identify the persons, who were supposed to receive the consignment.

In the recent times, drone activities by elements, both state and non-state actors, have been on the rise at an alarming level, which pose a major challenge to security forces guarding the borders, a senior BSF official said.

Security forces shot down two drones and seized a huge quantity of payload including rifles, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), sticky bombs and narcotics at different places over the past one year.

The security grid at the border was also intensified after the dropping of two bombs by drones at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu in June this year.