A marked rise in infiltration bids prompted the Indian Army to deploy about 5,000 additional troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in recent months in a major redeployment exercise in Jammu & Kashmir, according to a senior army officer.
The exercise started about three months ago, reports Hindustan Times.
"We have moved troops from the Kashmir hinterland to the LoC. Likewise, there's been a fair amount of thinning out of soldiers in the Jammu region as additional troops have been sent to the border," Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda told the daily.
The Indian Army's Special Forces (SF) have been deployed along with the LoC troops across the areas suspected to come under terror attack in the coming days.
Hooda said that as the militants are exploring new routes to enter India, it is difficult to "choke off infiltration completely", but the army is now deploying soldiers to areas that were considered relatively safe earlier.
"They are finding fresh routes to slip into India and targeting new areas as witnessed during the strikes in Udhampur and Gurdaspur... It appears they want to show that the entire state is in the throes of a problem. We are prepared to take them on," Hooda said.
Two militants opened fire at a BSF convoy on 5 August, killing two jawans and injuring eight others. Of the two militants, one was killed in the counter-attack while the other, Mohammed Naved, was captured alive while he was trying to flee taking three hostages.
In his confession, Naved said he was on a mission to India to kill Hindus because it was fun.
In yet another terror strike on 27 July in Gurdaspur, militants attacked a passenger bus and later Dinanagar police station, in which five policemen, including Superintendent of Police Baljit Singh and three civilians, were killed in a 12-hour encounter.
In both the attacks, the militants reportedly had links with the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (Lashkar-e-Toiba) and were traced to Pakistan.
Increased infiltration by militants from Pakistan to India in the recent days has alerted the Indian Army, which is taking all measures to prevent terror attacks in the two vulnerable states – Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab that are reportedly facing terror threat.
Following the two major attacks in the last two weeks, the Indian Army has tightened security along the border with Pakistan in view of the Independence Day celebration fearing more such attacks on or before 15 August.
Trouble is also brewing in Assam, with ULFA-I and other insurgent outfits planning major strikes.
