Pathankot police kept out of loop as MHA team visits border

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, September 3

The district police were kept out of the loop as a high-level team of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) visited the international border areas falling in the jurisdiction of Pathankot revenue district.

The team, comprising officials of the MHA, BSF and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) arrived in the Bamial area this morning. Gurdaspur sector DIG A. Shreenivasan was also a member of the entourage that stayed at the border for several hours.

Various security agencies have all along been claiming that that the four militants who attacked the Pathankot Air Force station on January 2 had infiltrated from near the Bamial check post. Intelligence reports suggest that even the three terrorists who laid siege to the Dinanagar police station on July 27 last year had made their way into Indian from the same point.

Rakesh Kaushal, SSP, said the police were unaware of the visit. “It is not necessary for the MHA officials to inform the police about any trip they intend to make to the border. They have their security personnel,” he said.

The MHA and BSF officials have made several visits, both jointly and individually, to Bamial after the Pathankot attack. On all occasions the police were informed following which senior officers of the district police accompanied them.

A spokesman said security agencies had identified 33 vulnerable points along the barbed wire fencing. “17 are near the international border stretching from Pathankot district till Gurdaspur. These need to be plugged. The fence is electrified and connected to a network of sensors, thermal imaging devices, lighting systems and alarms. Mines have been laid in the space between the two rows of fencing,” he said.