THE STATESMAN, DECEMBER 2, 1971
PAKISTAN ESCALATES WAR SITUATION
THREE SABRES STRAFE AGARTALA:
ONE HIT BY GROUND FIRE
From Our Special Representative
New Delhi, December 2.– Pakistan further escalated the war situation on the eastern front today when its forces heavily shelled Agartala and followed this up by an air attack on the airfield and civilian installations nearby.
Pakistani shells pounded Agartala town for the better part of the morning. The brief post-noon lull was shattered at about 12-30 when three Sabre jets streaked in to strafe the airfield. Official spokesmen here reported damage to life and property.
The Sabre jets flew away under heavy ground fire one of them obviously hit leaving dark smoky trail as it changed course towards Bangladesh territory.
The Pakistani air attack coming in the wake of the attempted one near Boyra in which they lost three aircrafts has gravely increased the prospects of the border skirmishes losing their localized character and developing into a larger confrontation. Evidence of this was available from Pakistani actions in Balurghat and another area south-west of Agartala as also on the western border both in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir.
The Government has taken a serious view of the aerial attack on Agartala and the local Commander there has been ordered to take necessary defensive action. Details of the Indian counter-action were not available up to the time of going to press but from preliminary reports filtering in tonight several Pakistani gun positions have been silenced. The Commander as stated by official spokesman earlier, is free in the circumstances to cross the border if he considers it necessary in terms of the defensive needs of the region.
According to eye-witness accounts received in local newspaper offices from their reporters in Agartala Pakistani shelling in the morning was indiscriminate and incessant. In two cases the sound of bursting shells came loud and clear over the telephone even as the conversation with Agartala was on.
Pakistani artillery simultaneously shelled Balurghat town on Tuesday killing six civilians. Indian guns fired in retaliation. The same day Pakistani troops fired with small- arms and artillery on Indian positions north-west of Balurghat and north of Balurghat. Men of the Border Security Force returned the fire. Pakistani troops also fired the same day with small arms automatics and artillery at Indian position in Hili.
On the western border a Pakistani patrol of four rangers intruded 150 yards into Indian territory north of Ferozpur on Wednesday. Indian patrol fired at the intruders. The rangers fled taking one of their injured men with them. On Tuesday Pakistanis fired 30 bursts of medium machinegun fire across the cease-fire line south west of Mendhar. There were no casualties on the Indian side. On Monday too, Pakistani troops had fired bursts of light machine gun in the same area without inflicting any casualties.
According to our Agartala correspondent the Pakistani planes could not do any damage to the Agartala airfield during strafing today.
Meanwhile unprovoked heavy shelling by Pakistani troops on Agartala town and its outskirts, started at about 8 p.m. yesterday continued till this evening. A large number of heavy artillery and mortar shells have hit the Kunjaban and Abhaynagar areas in the town and Indorenagar, Jagatpur Ushabazar, Narsingarh and Chhoygarh areas in the outskirts.
At least five Indian civilians were killed and 45 others injured in the shelling. Among the dead were a three-year old boy and a 15 year old girl.