BSF Jurisdiction Extended in West Bengal, Punjab and Assam: Reports

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi took to Twitter on Wednesday to condemn the Centre's decision to extend the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force to a 50 km belt along the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam. Earlier, the BSF's jurisdiction was a 15 km belt along the border.

In the area under its jurisdiction, BSF officers have powers of arrest, search and seizure on par with their counterparts in the police.

Punjab CM Channi called the central government's move "a direct attack on federalism" and urged Union home minister Amit Shah to roll back the decision.