PUNJAB: Border Security Force (BSF) troops shot down a drone that entered India in Punjab's Gurdaspur sector from the Pakistan side on the International Border in the early hours of Friday.

A senior BSF officer said that the drone was spotted at 4.35 am by BSF troops on patrolling duty. They immediately opened fire and it was shot down.

According to the BSF official, a massive search operation has been launched in the area to determine whether the drone has dropped any consignment in the area.

A search operation is underway under the supervision of BSF DIG. It is suspected that the drone was carrying a consignment from Pakistan.

"Brave jawans of BSF spotted a drone coming from Pakistan side. As soon as it entered India, jawans fired 17 rounds of bullets at it. One of the blades of the drone was damaged. The entire area is being searched. The drone will be analysed," said BSF DIG, Gurdaspur, Prabhakar Joshi.

Pertinent to mention, in the past nine months, security forces have observed the illegal entry of 191 drones into Indian territory from neighbouring Pakistan, raising major concerns in terms of internal security in the country.

The central government recently shared the input from the security forces deployed at the India-Pakistan border to maintain such illegal attempts from the Pakistan side.

Of the 191 drones observed, 171 entered into Indian territory through the India-Pakistan border along the Punjab sector while 20 were seen in the Jammu sector.