The bodies of two minor Pakistani nationals were found within Indian territory near the Indo-Pak international border in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district on Saturday, police said.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the bodies were spotted by a local approximately 11 kilometres from the border in Gajasar village. The authorities were alerted, following which a police team and Border Security Force (BSF) troops reached the spot, BSF inspector general ML Garg said.
“The dead bodies of two minors have been recovered from Jaisalmer’s Gajasar village on Saturday noon. Some documents recovered from them revealed that both are Pakistani nationals,” the HT reported Garg as saying.
According to the police, seeing the degree and extent of decomposition, it appears that the two died about a week ago, news agency PTI reported.
What initial probe suggests
Preliminary investigation suggested that the two minors may have died due to dehydration, police said. The bodies were sent to the mortuary at Ramgarh Hospital for postmortem.
Documents recovered from the bodies revealed that the boy was born in 2008 and the girl in 2010. A Pakistani sim card was also recovered from the bodies, the HT report said.
An investigation is underway to determine how the two minors managed to cross the heavily guarded international border and the circumstances that led to their deaths. “We are also examining the direction of their movement and any possible motive behind the border crossing,” Garg said.
Inspector General of Police (Jodhpur Range) Vikash Kumar said that several suspicious and sensitive items were recovered from the two bodies, including some technical equipment, as reported by HT.
Calling the case “extremely sensitive”, Kumar said, “Several suspicious and sensitive items have been recovered from them, including some technical equipment. We are still investigating if the couple crossed the international border or were already present on Indian soil.”
India-Pakistan conflict
The worst clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in half a century erupted May 7, with both sides trading air, drone and missile strikes, as well as artillery and small-arms fire along their shared border.
The clash was triggered by an attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam district on April 22 that killed 26 civilians in what India called an act of terrorism orchestrated by Pakistan. Islamabad has denied involvement.
India decisively asserted its military superiority over Pakistan during last month’s brief but intense conflict, with its aerial strikes penetrating deep into Pakistani territory and delivering pinpoint blows to critical enemy infrastructure such as radar systems, control units, and airbases. India’s Operation Sindoor underlined New Delhi’s military superiority.
During Operation Sindoor, India demonstrated that large-scale counter-terror operations could be carried out with surgical precision, even against a nuclear-armed adversary, without triggering significant escalation.
(With inputs from agencies)