Terror angle in intrusion bid

Amritsar: The Border Security Force (BSF) suspects that the Pakistani intruder whom it shot down early on Tuesday in the Gurdaspur sector was a terrorist intrusion mission’s scout. In the opinion of Punjab frontier’s former BSF inspector general M S Malhi, he had all the signs of a guide sent ahead to test the infiltration route.This intruder had a pump action gun, which is not so lethal as a conventional assault rifle. He was alone and not even smuggling arms or drugs into the country, which supports the theory that he was a scout. Malhi said: “Even drones can deliver weapons and drugs these days, so a man wouldn’t be risked unless required to lead armed intrusion.” On why the Pakistani side will choose the Channan outpost area for infiltration, he said it had a cross-border tunnel found recently, and the intruder’s accomplices might have retreated through a similar underground passage after he was shot dead.Former IG, BSF, Himmat Singh said the pump action gun was a new thing to be seen in the hands of Punjab intruder. “It is a weapon for low-level quick action to create panic and retreat. It is important to find the intruder’s local contacts, for which the BSF will need intelligence inputs and cooperation from the state police,” said Himmat Singh.