Barely seven hours before the retreat ceremony of the Border Security Force (BSF) was inaugurated by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha at Octroi post on International border in RS Pura sector of Jammu district, a Pakistani drone dropped a consignment of arms and ammunition in Sohanjana village, on the outskirts of Jammu city late Saturday night.
A senior police officer said, “it was a clear case of a Pakistani drone dropping arms and ammunition for the overground workers or OGWs ”. Over ground workers are sympathisers of terrorism who aide in terror operations.
“Sohanjana is a vast area by the side of fourth Tawi Bridge where large scale encroachments took place in recent years under political patronage. The possibility of OGWs among the encroachers cannot be ruled out,” he said.
The officer said Pak drones finding their way into Jammu city and managing to drop arms and ammo besides Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) was a cause of “serious” concern.
Jammu district police chief Chandan Kohli said, “The incident happened around midnight. We have recovered one AK-47 assault rifle, three AK magazines, 30 AK rounds and a telescopic sight”.
People aware of the developments said a drone dropped the consignment past midnight at Alora Mandal in Sohanjana. “A villager heard the sound of the flying object and saw it dropping something. He informed the police,” they said. The aerial distance of the place from the international border was around 5 to 6 km.
The consignment, wrapped in a yellow-coloured polythene, was tied with a nylon rope.
On August 23, a drone was spotted near the International Border (IB) in Arnia sector prompting BSF jawans to open fire at it. On July 24, Jammu and Kashmir Police claimed it shot down a Pakistani drone carrying five kg IED in Kanachak area of Akhnoor sector in Jammu district.
The July 24 incident was the first instance of J&K police successfully shooting down a drone carrying a payload for terrorists after June 27, when two drones dropped explosives on the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu city injuring two personnel .
Pakistan uses drones to drops arms, ammunition, weapons and money in border areas and is now suspected to be using these devices to target defence installations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The June 27 attack on the air force station was the first such instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to strike at vital installations in India. The National Investigation Agency is investigating the case.
Jammu & Kashmir Police DGP Dilbag Singh said the drones come from across the border. Over 360 drones have been sighted along the border with Pakistan since 2019.
(With inputs from agencies)