As India vowed revenge for Pakistan Army’s dastardly act of mutilating the dead bodies of two of its soldiers killed in firing along LoC by Pakistani Army, the Border Security Force (BSF) today revealed that the Border Action Team (BAT), the rogue unit that carried out the heinous act, mostly comprises militants.
According to Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), who was India’s DGMO between 2012 and 2014, Pakistan Army encourages such action along the LoC and it has been going on for a while.
While the act has undoubtedly accentuated rage towards Pakistan’s continued brutality along the LoC, here are few facts about its Army’s BAT unit:
1. BAT militants are mainly tasked to carry out disruptive activities in the form of secret raids across the Line of Control.
2. It is said that terrorists accompany the trained soldiers of the unit on specific missions.
3. The Pakistan Army’s elite Special Services Group forms the core of BAT. Its primary task is to dominate the LoC by lunching deadly attacks.
4. Special Services Group commandos are also among the best trained and are also called Black Storks due to the unique headgear they wear. Such teams can have anywhere between four to 10 people.
5. BAT also includes commandos of Pakistani Army and terrorists who are experts in guerrilla tactics and work along with Special Service Group.
6. Terrorists are recruited in BAT so that Pakistan can disown them easily if caught.
7. During yesterday’s attack, BAT took advantage of the simultaneous firing from Pakistani Army soldiers and mutilated bodies of two Indian soldiers.
8. Before yesterday’s killings, BAT had in past conducted many raids in very secretive manner. In 2013, BAT had beheaded Indian soldier Hemraj and murdered five other soldiers in separate cross-border assaults in the same year.
9. Yesterday’s incident, which took place in Krishna Ghati sector, happened immediately after the visit of the Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to the frontal area.
Detailing yesterday’s killings, BSF Additional Director General (ADG) Western Command KN Choubey said that Army and BSF's joint team was attacked when they were going for regular line maintenance in Krishna Ghati sector for boundary protection.
“Immediately the Pakistani side started firing and our jawans were engaged in this. In between this, the BAT action, which consists of regular army and Mujahideens and trained militants, took advantage and mutilated bodies of our two jawans," Choubey said.
The two jawans who were killed and their bodies were mutilated by Pakistan have been identified as Naik Subedar Paramjit Singh of 22 Sikh Regiment and Head Constable Prem Sagar of BSF's 200 Battalion.
