Atul Sharma
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 23: Security agencies were put on high alert in Kathua district on Sunday after a suspected drone was spotted hovering close to the International Border, triggering a sweeping search operation across the frontier villages of the Hiranagar sector.
The drone-like object was seen circling above the forward villages of the Bobiya area in Hiranagar sector at around 10:35 am. Within minutes, it turned back and disappeared into Pakistani territory, but not before setting off alarm among residents and prompting an immediate response from security forces, who cordoned off the area and launched an intensive combing operation.
The search was aimed squarely at ruling out the possibility of a cross-border drop — whether weapons, narcotics, or any other suspicious consignment — ferried in by the drone before it turned back. Teams scoured the forward villages through the day, but the operation turned up nothing incriminating or suspicious.
Security agencies have not stood down, however. Surveillance in the area remains heightened, and an investigation into the drone’s origin and intent is ongoing.
Sunday’s sighting is the latest in a string of drone and infiltration scares along the Jammu region’s border belt in recent days, with security forces also engaged in search operations in Udhampur and Reasi following reports of suspicious movement, and a Pakistani drone intercepted earlier in Punjab found carrying packets of heroin. The recurring incidents point to a sustained, low-intensity campaign of aerial smuggling and probing along the International Border — one that is keeping security forces in Jammu’s border districts on a near-constant state of alert. |
