Highlights
- The drone was spotted at around 11.25 pm on Tuesday
- Police along with concerned sister agencies were immediately informed
- Thorough search operation of the area was launched
Punjab: The Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday shot down a drone entering from Pakistan into Indian territory in the Ferozepur district in Punjab. The development was confirmed by the forces today.
BSF's 136 Battalion deployed at the border heard the buzzing sound of a suspected flying object or drone entering from Pakistan into Indian territory in the area near Gandu Kilcha village in Ferozepur at around 11.25 pm on Tuesday, the force said in a statement.
"BSF troops fired at the drone in an attempt to thwart the incursion," said the BSF, one of the Central Armed Police Forces mandated to guard the 3,323 km India-Pakistan border.
"During a search after first light in the concerned area, BSF troops along with Punjab Police recovered a Hexa-Copter or drone that had been brought down due to firing by BSF troops."
The BSF further said that the area has been cordoned off and police along with concerned sister agencies informed.
"Thorough search of the area in under progress."
Earlier in October, BSF had shot down a drone that entered India in Punjab's Amritsar sector from the Pakistan side on the International Border.
The drone (Quad-copter DJI Matrice) was spotted at 8.30 pm near Chhana village in Amritsar by BSF troops on patrolling duty. They immediately opened fire and it was shot down.
According to BSF officials, two packets of contraband drugs of 2.5 kg were recovered with the drone.
The central government recently shared the input from the security forces deployed at the India-Pakistan border to maintain such illegal attempts from the Pakistan side.
Of the 191 drones observed, 171 entered into Indian territory through the India-Pakistan border along the Punjab sector while 20 were seen in the Jammu sector, a document mentioned.
As per the document, the "UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) observation in Indo-Pak border was seen in Punjab and Jammu frontier with effect from January 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022".
The documents further reveal that most of these drones or UAVs managed to flee while a total of seven have been shot down by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who are deployed along the India-Pakistan border to keep a tab on such illegal activities being orchestrated by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.
(With inputs from ANI)
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