Indian army arrests 12-year-old 'intruder' along LoC

Alleges boy was sent by terrorists in connivance with Pakistan Army

The Indian Army, on Saturday, claims to have detained a young boy reportedly from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) along the Line of Control (LoC), said a Hindustan Times report.

The report said the 12-year-old boy crossed over into the Indian side in AJK’s Rajouri district.



“A patrol of the Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC) apprehended a 12-year-old intruder from the Pakistani side of Kashmir who had crossed over to this side of LoC late last evening in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district,” an Indian defence spokesperson said.

The HT report identified the boy as Ashfaq Ali Chauhan “who is the son of a retired Baloch Regiment soldier of Dunger Pel village in AJK.”

The boy, who was found near the LoC on the Indian side, surrendered immediately after being challenged by the army’s patrol party, the Indian defence spokesperson added.

“It is suspected that the boy was sent by terrorists in connivance with the Pakistan Army to probe routes for infiltration across the LoC,” said Indian Army sources in the report.

According to the HT, the boy would be handed over to police by the army for further investigation.



Kashmir has been a disputed region between Pakistan and India since independence from Britain in 1947. Two of three wars have been fought over the valley.

Indian-held Kashmir witnessed deadly protests in 2016, after a popular separatist leader, Burhan Wani, was killed by Indian forces.

Last September, tensions escalated when at least 19 Indian soldiers were killed in an assault on an army camp in Kashmir, an attack India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.