india

Updated: Oct 23, 2016 11:40 IST

A Border Security Force personnel who was injured in sniper fire by Pakistani troops died at a hospital in Jammu, police said on Sunday.

The 26-year-old was wounded on Friday when Pakistani snipers targeted him, as he was instrumental in foiling an infiltration bid along the international border in Kathua district.

BSF constable Gurnam Singh was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu, around 80km from Kathua. He died around 11.30 pm on Saturday, said a senior BSF officer.

He died around 11.30 pm on Saturday, said a senior BSF officer.

Gurnam Singh had suffered bullet injuries on his head after Pak Rangers opened sniper fire. Gurnam Singh hailed from Bhaleshar in Magowali area of Arnia in Jammu district.

A wreath laying ceremony to pay last respects to Singh will be held at BSF frontier headquarters at 10 am on Sunday, he added.

BSF Jammu Frontier IG, DK Upadhyaya has said that there will be no soft hand approach anymore and any and every provocation by Pakistan will be dealt with sternly.

The BSF said on Friday it had gunned down seven Pakistani border guards in retaliation to “unprovoked firing” by the neighbouring country in the Jammu sector where the government started shifting villagers to safer places in bulletproof vehicles.

The escalation of hostilities along the International Border came nearly three weeks after the Indian government announced that its solders had crossed the de-facto border and destroyed several militant bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The claim has ratcheted up hostilities between the two countries with frequent ceasefire violations and mortar shelling. India has also sought to isolate Pakistan globally.

But Singh’s family alleged that the constable may have been denied better treatment. His siblings, Mandeep Singh and Gurjeet Kour, said that despite a critical head injury, their brother was not shifted for specialised treatment to a neurological facility outside the state.

The BSF said it was prepared to provide all assistance to Singh and his family, but went by medical advice regarding the shifting of the injured trooper to a hospital outside the state. Hundreds of villagers in Bhalesar village had been praying for recovery of the injured BSF trooper.