Jaipur, Nov 27 (IANS) Security agencies have intensified surveillance along vulnerable stretches of the Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan’s Barmer after a Pakistani youth was apprehended hiding in a cowshed, officials said on Thursday.

The youth had crossed the Indo-Pak border under the cover of darkness and was detained by Border Security Force personnel after villagers spotted him hiding in a cowshed in Barmer district on Wednesday night.

Barmer SP Narendra Singh Meena said the intruder identified himself as Hindal (24), son of Barsa, a resident of Nayatala village in Chhachro tehsil of Mithi district, Pakistan. He was found hiding in a cowshed at Jat Ke Bera, barely 200 metres from the international border.

Locals noticed the young man behaving suspiciously and immediately informed the BSF. Security personnel and police teams rushed to the spot and apprehended him. No objectionable items were recovered from his possession. After preliminary questioning, he was handed over to the Sedwa police station for further investigation.

Security agencies are now probing the exact point of intrusion. His footprints and the suspected route taken to cross the barbed-wire fencing are being examined to determine which border pillar he may have slipped through and to plug similar vulnerabilities in the future.

This is not the first such incident in recent weeks. About a month and a half ago, a Pakistani man and his 7-year-old son were caught at Zero Point while attempting to enter Indian territory. Investigations later revealed that some of his relatives were living in India, and he was suspected of trying to join them.

The latest apprehension comes at a time when Rajasthan’s border districts are facing heightened espionage concerns, with several arrests made in the past six months for allegedly spying for Pakistani intelligence.

On March 26, intelligence officials arrested Pathan Khan, a resident of Karam Ki Dhani near the Chandan Field Firing Range, under the Official Secrets Act.

On May 28, they detained Shakur Khan, a former personal assistant to ex-Congress minister Saleh Mohammad, who was later arrested on June 3 for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistan.

On August 4, Mahendra Prasad, a DRDO guest house manager in Jaisalmer, was arrested for passing Army intelligence to a Pakistani handler.

On August 20, investigators picked up Jeevan Khan (25) in Jaisalmer after discovering multiple Pakistani numbers and suspicious communication on his phone.

Most recently, on September 25, Hanif Khan was arrested for allegedly supplying sensitive Army-related information to Pakistan’s ISI.

–IANS

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