Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to take salute from BSF troop

From ZeeNews

Sunday, November 24, 2013
New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will take ceremonial salute from the troops of country's second largest paramilitary force BSF at a guard of honour function on its Raising Day here later this week.
Kumar will be the chief guest of the Border Security Force (BSF) celebrations on the occasion of its 48th Raising Day on December 1.
The force was raised in 1965 as a border guarding unit and at present is deployed to guard Indian frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
It also renders a variety of roles in the internal security domain including conducting anti-Naxal operations.
The celebrations during the Raising Day would include a march past by the troopers and a show of their skills and weapons including award of police medals by Kumar at the BSF camp in south Delhi.
PTI

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/lok-sabha-speaker-meira-kumar-to-take-salute-from-bsf-troops_892095.html

41k BSF troops, Rs 5,000 cr infrastructure for Myanmar border

From The Indian Express
PTI : New Delhi, Sun Nov 24 2013
A plan to deploy 41,000 troops and setting up of Rs 5,000 crore infrastructure will be on the government's table this week as it looks to replace Assam Rifles with BSF to guard the porous Indo-Myanmar border.

A team of senior BSF officials will soon make a detailed presentation to the Ministry of Home Affairs as to the force's requirements for stationing its personnel and creating posts along this 1,640 km-long border, which is notorious for movement of insurgents and smuggling of arms and narcotics.

A field survey team is already in the border areas to map the topography and the terrain and forests in the area.

Border Security Force (BSF), according to sources, has projected a requirement of 41 battalions (roughly 41,000 personnel), under three new sectors, to man this border.

The estimated cost of creating the infrastructure for the above, over a period of five years, is about Rs 5,000 crore.

India plans great wall between Pakistan, Kashmir border

From the newstribe.com

Jitender Singh

Nov 23, 2013

New Delhi: Border Security Force Chief (BSF) Subhash Joshi has said that India was planning to build a raised embankment along a 179-km stretch on the Jammu sector to pre-empt infiltration or shelling from across the Pakistan border. The embankment, or bund, will be around 135 feet (41 metres) wide and 10 metres high and accommodate bunkers and border outposts.
“The BSF is waiting for the state government to acquire land along the stretch we have identified. The embankment will be followed by fencing,” says Subhash Joshi, DG BSF. “There are a few riverine patches too along the border in Jammu. To secure them we are looking for technological solutions.”
An official said they were waiting for no-objection-certificates from at least 24 MLAs, a necessity under the state’s land acquisition laws.
“Land in 29 villages has already been acquired,” says R K Varma, divisional commissioner of Samba in Jammu. Similar exercises have been initiated in Kathua and Jammu districts.
“There are at least two villages in my jurisdiction, Chak Parthyal and Kazalkhurd, where the process has not begun,” says Varma. “This is because the border areas are rigged with mines planted during the 1971 war and again during the Kargil war in 1999. Officials cannot go there to carry out a survey.” The DG said the BSF will help the state administration to de-mine the areas.

http://www.thenewstribe.com/2013/11/23/india-plans-great-wall-between-pakistan-kashmir-border/

EVMs in strongrooms to avert Maoist ambush

From The Times of India
TNN | Nov 22, 2013
RAIPUR: EVMs — which will decide the fate of candidates on December 8 — have been placed under a three-tier security to avert Maoist ambush. As many as 300 personnel have been deployed on the premises of Sejbahar's government engineering college, where electronic machines of the Raipur district are kept in strong rooms under the surveillance of 35 cameras.

More than 300 CRPF and BSF jawans will provide round-the-clock security, not allowing anyone to enter the strong rooms, police sources said adding that the security would be tightened and increased on the D-day.The machines of seven Vidhan Sabha assemblies have been kept in different rooms, which are being monitored from the police control room. "It is usually said that people fiddle with EVMS after polls. This is the reason police have tightened security so that no allegations are made by any political party. No one can even venture around the EVMS within a radius of 300m," a police source said.

According to joint chief electoral officer DD Singh, counting would be done in 14 rounds on December 8, as Raipur (south) constituency has maximum number of candidates.

A projector or LCD would also be installed for the purpose.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/EVMs-in-strongrooms-to-avert-Maoist-ambush/articleshow/26172410.cms

Three tribal militants surrender in Tripura

From Business Standard

IANS  |  Agartala  

November 22, 2013 

Three tribal militants, who had fled from their hideout in Bangladesh, surrendered to the Border Security Force (BSF) in Tripura, police said here Friday.

The Bangladesh-trained extremists have deposited two AK-series rifles and large quantities of ammunition.

Three guerrillas -- area commander of the NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) Pabanjoy Reang (25), deputy area commander Ananga Mohan Tripura (21), and sepoy Nripendra Tripura (20) -- had recently fled from their Satchari camp in Sylhet district of eastern Bangladesh before entering into Indian territory.

"The three NLFT rebels surrendered to senior BSF officials and deposited their arms and ammunition at bordering Sidhai camp Wednesday," police told reporters.

BSF have subsequently handed over the tribal guerrillas to the police.

3 held for trading in protected species

From The Times Of IndiaTNN | Nov 22, 2013

KOLKATA: Smuggling of endangered species seems to be the latest trend along the Indo-Bangla border. Early on Wednesday, officers and troops of the Border Security Force (BSF)'s 40 Bn were surprised when two Bangladeshi nationals, they nabbed while sneaking across the border from India near Bongaon, were found to be carrying lizards in a bag.

The BSF suspects that the 10 reptiles seized are spiny tail lizards - an endangered species protected under Schedule II of Wildlife Protection Act - which have high demand in the international market. Officials believe that the animals could have fetched up to Rs 20 lakh each.

Meherpur outlaw killed in mob beating in India

From The Daily Star,
Bangladesh
Friday, November 22, 2013
An underground operative, who fled to India around seven months ago to avoid arrest, was killed in mob beating in Nadia district of Pashchimbanga on Tuesday night.
The outlaw was identified as Safiqul Islam, 38, son of Babar Ali of Solmari village in Sadar upazila of Meherpur district. Indian Border Security Force (BSF) confirmed the death and identity of the outlaw at a flag meeting held on Kathuli border in Meherpur yesterday.
Receiving the death news from Safiqul’s relatives, BGB had earlier sent a letter to its Indian counterpart to hold the flag meeting.
Kathuli BGB camp Commander Fazlul Haq quoted BSF 85 Tinpur camp Commander Mahendra Kosh as saying that Safiqul went to a local bazar at Kagojipara village in Morutia Thana in Nadia on Tuesday night where locals caught him, suspecting to be a robber.
They beat up Safiqul mercilessly, resulting in his death on the spot, the BSF commander said.
Meherpur police said Safiqul was a cadre of outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (Janajuddho faction).  He was wanted in four cases, including two for murder.
Safiqul fled the country 7/8 months ago and was living at Kagojipara village under Morutia Thana of Nadia district, they added.
At the flag meeting, the Indian border guards agreed to return the body of the outlaw after completion of procedures, BGB sources said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/meherpur-outlaw-killed-in-mob-beating-in-india/

BSF compensates firing victims’ families in Tripura

The Hindu
November 20, 2013

The Border Security Force has financially compensated two families who lost their kin in firing by its troopers in the Tripura frontier. The BSF said the financial support was given in compliance with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) directive.

Families of Abu Hanif and Abdul Haq from separate villages in Sonamura of west Tripura received a sum of Rs. 7 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh respectively. Officers of the 19 th battalion of the BSF recently gave away the compensation in the presence of State government officials.

Shinde At BSF Function:Nation wanted greatest honour for Sachin

From Business Standard
Thursday, November 21, 2013

Amid the debate over Bharat Ratna for Sachin Tendulkar, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said the highest civilian award had been conferred on him as "the whole nation wanted the greatest honour" for the celebrated cricketer.

Asked on the conferment of the award on the cricketer before hockey legend Dhyan Chand, Shinde said, "Since the whole nation wanted the greatest honour for Sachin..., Bharat Ratna was conferred on him."

The Union Home Minister, who was here to lay the foundation stone of the building of a BSF battalion in Baad area, said units of para-military forces were being set up wherever land was easily available.

Lauding the role of BSF in the 1971 Bangladesh War,Shinde said green signal had been given to set up at least one unit of the force in each state.

Two Sikh Yatris died at Nankana Sahib; Bodies handed over to BSF at Wagha; SGPC, DSGMC to start prior medical checkups

From sikhsiyasat.net

By PARMJIT SINGH

Published: November 19, 2013

Nankana Sahib/ Amritsar, (November 19, 2013): It is learnt that two Sikh Yatris to Sikh Gurdwaras in Pakistan died during their stay at Nankana Sahib. As per information Atma Singh, resident of Mukatsar and Shingara Singh resident of Tarn Taran died due to heart attack at around 2am on November 18.

As per recent reports bodies of the deceased had been sent to Wagah (Pakistan) border from where they would be handed over to Border Security Force ( BSF).

Land mine recovered, defused in Samba

From Business Standard

Press Trust of India  |  Jammu  

November 20, 2013

A land mine was recovered and later defused by the security forces in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said today. 

On the information of a farmer Balak Ram, the mine was found in his agriculture fields in Beingallar border area in the district last evening by troops of 126 Battalion of BSF, they said. 

It was later defused safely, they said, adding a tragedy was averted.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/land-mine-recovered-defused-in-samba-113112000374_1.html

BSF on alert with threat of infiltration at Bangladesh border

From ANI News
Siliguri, Nov 19 (ANI): Troops of India's paramilitary, Border Security Force (BSF) were put on high alert at the Bangladesh border with intelligence agencies predicting an increase in infiltration due to the growing political instability in the delta nation. Inspector General of BSF's North Bengal Frontier, S. K. Sood told a journalist in Siliguri that troops have been told to cover all gap areas along the border to counter any infiltration bid. The clash of ideologies could plunge Bangladesh into a cycle of violence as the two main political parties - ruling Awami League led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh National Party (BNP) headed by Begum Khaleda Zia, locked in decades of mutual distrust, exploit the tension between secularists and Islamists ahead of elections. In the recent months, Bangladesh has been hit by a wave of violent protests over war crimes convictions, presenting the government with a security and credibility challenge ahead of polls early next year.
http://www.aninews.in/videogallery9/17735-bsf-on-alert-with-threat-of-infiltration-at-bangladesh-border.html