India's border security "EMPOWER IAS"

In news:

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) up to 50 km inside the international borders in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.

 

About Border Security Force (BSF)

• BSF is primary border guarding organisation of India and termed as First Line of Defence of Indian Territories.
• It is the sentinels of Indian borders withPakistan and Bangladesh.
• It came into existence on 1st December,1965.
• It was created by merging various State Armed Police Battalions for achieving a better coordinated synergy between the border guarding functions in peace time and fighting the war during the eventuality on both Western and Eastern fronts.
• BSF is deployed on Indo-Pakistan International Border, Indo-Bangladesh International Border, Line of Control (LoC) along with Indian Army and in Anti-Naxal Operations.
• Since its inception, BSF has proven its credentials during various counter insurgency and anti-militancy operations, internal security duties, natural calamities etc.
• BSF is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of Union of India under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• It is mandated with guarding India’s land border during peacetime and preventing transnational crime.
• BSF currently stands as the world’s largest border guarding force.

 

What are the new modifications?

 

• The MHA has exercised the powers under the Border Security Force Act of 1968.
• It has thus outlined the area of BSF’s jurisdiction.
• While the places marked here are within 50 km of the respective borders, this is not meant to represent the BSF’s jurisdiction.
• At the same time, the Ministry has reduced BSF’s area of operation in Gujarat from 80 km from the border, to 50 km.

 

Powers exercised by BSF in its jurisdiction

BSFs jurisdiction has been extended only in respect of the powers it enjoys under:

1. Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)
2. Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and
3. Passport Act, 1967

 

Arrest and search

• BSF currently has powers to arrest and search under these laws.
• It also has powers to arrest, search and seize under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, Customs Act and certain other laws.
• Its powers under these will continue to be only up to 15 km inside the border in Punjab, Assam and West Bengal, and will remain as far as 80 km in Gujarat.

 

Sanctions behind such powers

• Scarcely populated borders: At that time, border areas were sparsely populated and there were hardly any police stations for miles.
• Trans-border crimes: To prevent trans-border crimes, it was felt necessary that BSF is given powers to arrest.
• Manpower crunch: While police stations have now come up near the border, they continue to be short-staffed.

 

Various issues at Borders

1. Encroachment
2. Illegal incursion
3. Drug and cattle smuggling

 

Why has the government extended the jurisdiction?

• The objective of the move is to bring in uniformity and also to increase operational efficiency. Earlier BSF had different jurisdictions in different states.
• BSF often gets information relating to crime scenes that may be out of their jurisdiction.
• The move was also necessitated due to increasing instances of drone-dropping of weapons and drugs.