Change in demographic pattern in border areas behind decision to enlarge BSF jurisdiction: DG

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BSF director general(DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh said that the “demographic balance” has been upset in border states like Assam and West Bengal over a period of time and that was probably the reason that the Centre recently extended the force’s jurisdiction.

Rejecting allegations that the October notification of the Union Home ministry (that expanded its jurisdiction to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch from the international border in Assam, West Bengal and Punjab as compared to the earlier 15 km) interfered with local policing, he said that theBSFwas not trying

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to “act as a parallel Police” and the powers to investigate and file charge sheets continue to remain with the state.

The Border Security Force (BSF) guards over 6,300 km of the Indian fronts with Pakistan on the west and Bangladesh on the east of the country.
The DG said that the force has dome a survey in some border villages that found that there is a “definite” demographic change.

The BSF has a strength of about 2.65 lakh personnel at present and it was raised on December 1, 1965. It has 192 operational battalions at present and is the country’s largest border guarding force with ITBP, SSB andAssam Riflesbeing the other three.