J&K DGP: Arms seized from Kulgam airdropped by drone from Pakistan

Late on Tuesday, an M4 US Carbine, an AK 47 rifle, six Chinese pistols and ammunition were recovered from a truck near Jawahar Tunnel in Kulgam. Suspected militants Bilal Ahmad Kuttay and Shahnawaz Ahmad Mir, who were on the truck, were arrested.

Director General, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Dilbag Singh on Sunday said the arms and ammunition seized during a joint operation by police and Army near Jawahar Tunnel in Kulgam on Tuesday were airdropped in Samba sector with the help of a drone from the Pakistan side.

Investigation into the seizure is in progress, he said, adding that Jammu has never been out of the radar of Pakistan. “If you go back two-three years, there have been fidayeen attacks at Sunjwan (military station)…N agrota army camp was attacked, then Raj Bagh and Hiranagar,’’ he said.

The DGP said police and security forces have been deployed in the region in adequate numbers and are on high alert.

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Late on Tuesday, an M4 US Carbine, an AK 47 rifle, six Chinese pistols and ammunition were recovered from a truck near Jawahar Tunnel in Kulgam. Suspected militants Bilal Ahmad Kuttay and Shahnawaz Ahmad Mir, who were on the truck, were arrested.

This is the second time during the past three months that there have been attempts to airdrop weapons from the Pakistan side. On June 20, BSF shot down a drone at Rathua village in Kathua district along the international border. The drone was found carrying a payload of nearly 5 kg, including a US-made M4 semi-automatic carbine, two magazines, 60 rounds and seven Chinese grenades.

The DGP, who visited the international border in Samba where the BSF recently detected a cross border tunnel, said it was a huge underground structure like the one detected in Chilyari area during 2013-14. The BSF is digging to see it from inside, he added.

Since the killing of three terrorists in an encounter near Ban Toll Plaza along the Jammu-Srinagar highway on January 31, police and security forces had been looking for a cross-border tunnel along the international border as there had been inputs that the terrorists killed in the encounter were sent through a tunnel, the DGPsaid. “After looking at the indicators on ground and the support position, it appears that this tunnel has been used by Pakistan to send terrorists’’ into Jammu and Kashmir, he said in reply to a question. The matter is still under investigation, he said.

The DGP did not rule out the possibility of more such tunnels in areas along the international border in Jammu.

“It is possible that there may be some more tunnels,’’ he said, adding that the police and BSF are looking for them.