Srinagar, Sep 12 (IANS) A trooper of the Border Security Force (BSF) was injured in an accidental firing in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

Officials said on Friday that the BSF man was posted in an artillery battalion of the force in the district, and the incident happened on Thursday.

The trooper, identified as Sandeep Kumar, sustained an injury in his palm at the artillery battalion in the Nowgam area due to accidental firing.

“He was rushed to a hospital in Baramulla, where his condition is stated to be stable,” the officials said.

Jammu and Kashmir has a 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) and over 240 km-long International Border (IB). The Army guards the LoC while the BSF guards the IB in the union territory.

The LoC is spread over Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara districts of the Valley and Poonch, Rajouri and partly in Jammu district of the Jammu division.

The IB is spread over Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts. To tackle the menace of drones dropping payloads of arms/ammunition/cash, and drugs, the BSF has deployed special anti-drone equipment all along the International Border.

The force has been effective in checking the drones sent from across the IB with the assistance of Pakistan to sustain terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

The BSF is deployed at places as the second line of defence in mountainous areas on the LoC. The major role of the force is not restricted to only guarding the IB; the BSF also assists the civil administration in checking drug smuggling, maintaining law and order and providing yeoman service during natural calamities.

The BSF has played a crucial role in anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the early and late 1990s till it was replaced by the CRPF in the UT as the main paramilitary force assisting the local police.

As the largest paramilitary force in the World, the BSF has earned the highest awards of gallantry during anti-militancy operations and has been second to none in serving the nation in peacetime.

–IANS

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