Friday, April 29 2005 14:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Government yesterday (Apr 28, 2005) told the Lok Sabha that there was no proposal to start air surveillance through helicopters on the Indo-Bangladesh border.

In a written reply to a question, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee quoted information received from Border Security Fore (BSF) as saying that there was no spurt in infiltration from the Bangladesh border.

Tension on Indo-Bangladesh border has been on the rise since the brutal killing of a BSF officer after his abduction by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) men earlier this month.

BSF had on Sunday (Apr 24, 2005) alleged that a Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) helicopter had violated Indian airspace in Tripura and asked the Air Force to investigate.

The BSF claimed that its personnel had seen a BDR helicopter flying over Chotakhil in Sabroom sub-division of Tripura and also in Magrum and Beltoli areas along the international border on Friday (Apr 22, 2005).

"The helicopter was seen a few hundred metres inside Indian airspace and we have passed on this information to Indian Air Force for investigation," BSF Director General R S Mooshahary had said.

He said BDR troops had also dug trenches and intensified patrolling on their side of the Tripura border.

BSF said BDR had intensified its strength at Kurma in Srimangal district of Bangladesh and its soldiers had dug trenches along part of the border and were carrying 51 mm mortar shells on routine patrols.