Chandigarh:
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday lauded the bravery of two women troopers of the Border Security Force (BSF) who shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the India-Pakistan international border in the Dera Baba Nanak sector of Punjab on Sunday.
This was the first time that women troopers of the BSF were involved in direct action on the border belt and killed an intruder, BSF officials in the frontier district of Gurdaspur said.
The two troopers, Reena and Aarti, were also felicitated by the BSF on Monday.
The women troopers, who noticed movement behind standing crops in the Dera Baba Nanak sector on Sunday afternoon, had challenged the intruder but he did not retreat. At this, the troopers fired at him and killed him.
Border range deputy inspector general (DIG) PS Bains told media on Sunday that nine rounds were fired by the troopers and later the body of the intruder was recovered.
Women troopers were deployed by the BSF along the Indo-Pakistan border for the first time in September 2009. Many of them have been assigned combat duty assisted by their male counterparts.
Lauding the courage shown by the women troopers, Mr Badal said their "rare and heroic feat" had made the country and Punjab proud. He added that this would inspire other women to join the defence and para-military forces.