Drone sighted, two empty bags found from Bharopal border village

PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 13

Security and intelligence agencies have been put on alert after findings of two empty bags dropped by a drone in Bharopal border village falling under Gharinda police station here in the wee hours.

The jawans located the drone when it was returning. Though they fired at the drone, it returned to Pakistan territory.

Immediately after, a search operation was launched in the border villages where drone movement was sighted by the Border Security Force as well as Punjab Police following which two thermocol boxes were found from nearby Bhaini village. The boxes were opened and smuggled material was missing.

“It could be anything, heroin, weapons or hand grenades,” said an official who was part of the search operation being continued in the area. An FIR is being registered with Gharinda police and further investigations are under progress to identify the suspects who came to the spot and retrieved the consignments.

“We cannot rule out anything. It may be heroin or weapons. Police teams were still searching the areas. We are hoping to get some clues about the suspects who retrieved the consignment from the spot. It is a serious issue and we are leaving no stone unturned to identify the smugglers,” said Amritsar Rural SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana.

Sources added that the box was one-feet wide and one feet high. It can contain up to 4kg heroin or nearly 10 weapons.

A BSF official said concerned agencies besides Punjab Police were informed following the sighting of the drone. We started the search operation immediately after the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) sighting after midnight.

August 8: A tiffin bomb with 2kg RDX, four hand grenades dropped by drones were located near Daleke border village.

August 10: Another drone movement was noticed in Mullankot border village near Bachchwind and Daleke village where a tiffin bomb was recovered.

September 10: Alert Border Security Jawans confiscated six packets of heroin containing 6kg heroin smuggled into Indian Territory using drones near the Havelian border outpost in Tarn Taran area.