20-Foot Tunnel From Pakistan Found By BSF At Sambha, Jammu and Kashmir

Ramgarh, Jammu and Kashmir: A 20-metre tunnel dug from Pakistan to help terrorists infiltrate into India has been found by the Border Security Force (BSF) near the International Border. The tunnel was discovered during searches at the Ramgarh sector in Sambha yesterday, said senior BSF officer Dharmedra Pareek.

The tunnel is 2.5 feet wide and about that deep, the officer said.

"The tunnel was yet to be completed and was detected well in advance, before it could reach the fence," he said.

It has been dug right below the border fence and was detected during an exercise by the BSF across 200 km of the International Border.

Surveillance equipment along the border over the years has made infiltration almost impossible. That, say officers, is the reason that so many tunnels are being dug - there is no underground mechanism.
 "When we investigated, we found that the construction of the tunnel was an ongoing process... with the detection of the tunnel any possible infiltration in the future has been foiled," the BSF officer said, adding that the discovery has resulted in destroying the plans of terrorists to strike India in connivance with the Pakistan Rangers.

The BSF will ask for a border meeting with their counterparts, the Pak Rangers, and inform them about the tunnel found well beyond the fencing.

Last year, three heavily armed militants entered Indian territory using a tunnel in the same sector.

In 2012, a 400-metre tunnel with ventilation pipes was found in the samba sector and was considered a major discovery.

A tunnel was also found near the Line of Control in the Akhnoor sector in 2009.

In the past, terrorists have indicated the possibility of tunnels being used for infiltration.  Officers say with traditional infiltration routes shut to them, the terrorists are changing their tactics and using new methods to infiltrate.