7 BSF Women Defended Border During Operation Sindoor, Sent Enemy Running Amid Shelling

Last Updated:May 30, 2025, 17:52 IST

During the operation, women personnel of Border Security Force (BSF) were deployed at the border, BSF Inspector General Abhishek Pathak said.

Seven BSF women, headed by Assistant Commandant, Neha Bhandari, defended the forward posts in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor sector. (File image)

In early hours of May 7, Indian Defence Forces launched precision strikes at nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under “Operation Sindoor" in response to the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack which claimed 26 lives.

During the operation, women personnel of Border Security Force (BSF) were deployed at the border, BSF Inspector General Abhishek Pathak said.

While addressing a press conference in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, General Pathak said, “There was huge anger among people following the cowardly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. Following the attack, the government had promised to take a stern action against the perpetrators. Seeing India’s strong determination, Pakistan strengthened its defences. As per the information received from several intel agencies, Pakistan had increased the number of its personnel on borders and had also deployed its regular army personnel. It was noticed that Pakistan had also moved its heavy artillery and tanks to the forward areas. Considering this, the BSF, Army, Navy and Air Force started their preparations."

Notably, seven women officers of the BSF contributed to the success of Operation Sindoor after they fearlessly defended India at the international border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor.

For three long days and nights, as an infuriated Pakistan retaliated to India’s Operation Sindoor, the seven women team, led Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari, stayed put, defended their posts, and made the enemy retreat.

Assistant Commandant Bhandari, who was leading the team, joined the BSF about three years ago. Bhandari is the first woman officer to be posted on the frontline since the Army is yet to utilise female officers for such roles. The team of women officers, called “Seema Praharis", defended their posts until the enemy stepped back from their locations.

Apart from Bhandari, six women constables held a gun position on a forward border post, with their ‘josh’ rising with every bullet they fired at enemy positions across the IB in Samba-R S Pura-Akhnoor sectors.

Of the six women who engaged in direct firing, four had joined the force as recently as 2023, while two brought nearly two decades of experience. Veterans Manjit Kour and Malkit Kour from Punjab led two crucial positions—an observation post and a bunker.

For the others, Swapna Rath and Shampa Basak of West Bengal, Sumi Xess from Jharkhand, and Jyoti Banian from Odisha, it was a new challenge. Having joined the BSF as recently as 2023, they now found themselves in a high-stakes, near-combat setting.

Bhandari, a third-generation officer from her family in Uttarakhand, took pride in being part of the BSF and commanding a border outpost in the Pargwal forward area of the Akhnoor sector in the Jammu district during Operation Sindoor.

“I feel proud to be manning a post along the International Border with my troops. It is approximately 150 meters away from the Pakistani post in the Akhnoor-Pargwal area," Neha told news agency PTI. 

During the operation, the women personnel manned critical positions, delivering heavy retaliatory fire on Pakistani locations in adjoining Sialkot.

“I had three posts falling in my area. I pinned down the people at all three hostile locations. We hit them with every weapon we had. They were forced to flee their posts," Bhandari told the news agency.

The operation spanned three days and three nights, ending only after sustained fire from the BSF forced the Pakistani forces to retreat from their forward locations.

Praising the role of women in combat at forward posts and their engagement in firing on Pakistani posts, Inspector General of BSF Shashank Anand had said, “BSF women personnel played an outstanding role in this operation. Although they had the option to move to the battalion headquarters, they chose to stay at forward posts with their male counterparts and responded strongly to Pakistan." Anand said that BSF women personnel, including Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari, had shown exemplary courage by manning forward posts and engaging enemy positions near the IB. “Women BSF soldiers played a crucial role in this operation and stood at the front lines to protect the country’s sovereignty and borders," he said.

Under Operation Sindoor, the BSF retaliated with full force– striking back at 76 Pakistani border outposts and 42 forward defence locations.

(With inputs from agencies)

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ...Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ...

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