Did India conduct surgical strike this week? Rajnath Singh's latest remark sparks speculations

Ahead of the second anniversary of the surgical strike on September 29, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday sparked rumours of another such strike against Pakistan after he hinted of a befitting incident that took place a few days ago.

Speaking at Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, the home minister in a cryptic message said that two or three days ago, something had happened and assured that it had gone well. Regretting the recent slaying and mutilation of BSF Head Constable Narendra Singh by Pakistan, Singh said that after he had always asked the Indian Army never to initiate firing but added that if Pakistan triggered a bullet then India shouldn't count its bullets.

#WATCH: HM says,"Hamare BSF ka ek jawan,abhi uske saath jis tarike se badsalooki ki hai Pak ne, shayad aapne dekha hoga.Kuch hua hai,main bataoonga nahi. Hua hai, theek thaak hua hai, vishwaas rakhna bahut theek thaak hua hai, 2-3 din pehle.Aur aage bhi dekhiega kya hoga." (28.9) pic.twitter.com/fZbTmrbRUh — ANI (@ANI) September 29, 2018

The minister reiterated and asked people to trust that something of importance took place and that it will also take place in the future. However, he refused to elaborate on the incident saying that he hadn't spoken about it to anybody but some people must be knowing about the recent incident.

"Hamare BSF ka ek jawan, abhi uske saath jis tarike se badsalooki ki hai Pakistan ne, shayad aapne dekha hoga. Kuch hua hai, main bataoonga nahi. Hua hai, theek thaak hua hai, vishwaas rakhna bahut theek thaak hua hai, 2-3 din pehle. Aur aage bhi dekhiega kya hoga. Maine apne Border Security Force ke jawanon ko kaha tha, padosi hai, pehli goli matt chalana, lekin ek bhi goli agar udhar se chal jaati hai to phir apni goliyon ko matt gin'na. (You must have seen the brutal way in which Pakistan killed our BSF soldier. Something has happened, I'll not talk about it. But something has happened and it was done alright. Keep trust that it was done in a good manner two or three days ago. Look it will also happen ahead. I've told my Border Security Force not to fire first as Pakistan is our neighbour. But I've also told them that in case a single bullet comes from Pakistan do not count your bullets.)

Singh's statement comes after head constable Narendra Singh was murdered and mutilated by the Pakistani Border Action Team recently.

Outgoing Border Security Force (BSF) Director General KK Sharma had said on Friday, ''Based on our investigation, we can say that head constable Narendra Singh was brutally murdered and mutilated by the Pakistani Border Action team. Singh was killed by a Pakistani bullet, then his body was dragged to that side of the border and an attempt was made to slit his throat. Singh's killing was a very unfortunate incident. But, it was very important for us to retrieve his body first before doing anything. So far, the BAT action was limited to the LoC. But, it's the first time that such an incident has taken place on the International Border too."

After 18 Indian soldiers were martyred in an attack by Pakistan-backed terrorists in Uri in 2016, the Indian Army had retaliated by carrying out punitive strikes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and killed terrorists on September 28-29, 2016. The government is celebrating 'Parakram Parv' from September 28-30 to mark the second anniversary of the surgical strikes.