NEW DELHI: A sharp rise in the seizure of compact, high-impact weapons along India’s borders has triggered fresh concern within the security establishment, as Border Security Force (BSF) data for the first quarter of 2026 indicates a growing threat to urban centres in the country.
Official figures show that recoveries of hand grenades, pistols, rockets and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the first three months of this year have already surpassed or are rapidly approaching full-year seizure totals recorded in recent years.
"Most of the recoveries were made along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders," officials said.
The most striking increase has been in hand grenade recoveries.
BSF troops seized 203 grenades between January and March 2026, exceeding the 185 recovered during the whole of 2025. The comparison is even sharper against earlier years, as 29 grenades were seized in 2020, 32 in 2021 and 19 in 2022.
The numbers surged to 307 in 2023 and 342 in 2024 before dropping last year. If the current pace continues, recoveries in 2026 could cross 800, more than double the previous annual peak.
Security officials view the trend as particularly alarming because hand grenades are easy to conceal, require minimal training to use and can inflict heavy casualties in crowded public spaces.
They say these weapons pose a serious challenge for city police forces, which lack the surveillance and interception capabilities available to specialised border units.
Recoveries of pistols and revolvers also indicate a sustained rise. The BSF seized 75 such weapons in the first quarter of 2026, matching or exceeding annual totals recorded in 2020 (64), 2022 (66), 2023 (84) and 2024 (91). The highest annual figure so far came in 2025, when 311 pistols and revolvers were recovered following a sharp spike in the second half of the year.
The officials said the concern extends beyond the numbers to the manner in which these weapons are being used. Pistols have figured prominently in targeted killings reported from Punjab and Jammu over the past two years.
Investigators believe smuggling networks are increasingly transporting firearms in modular components, which are later reassembled after crossing the border, making detection more difficult.
Another worrying trend is the recovery of rockets and improvised bombs. The BSF data shows 61 such devices were seized in the first quarter of 2026, against 139 recoveries during all of 2025 and 113 in 2024.
In 2020, only 20 such recoveries were recorded through the year. At the current rate, seizures in 2026 could cross 240.
Officials in the security establishment say the movement of rockets and improvised explosive devices suggests a shift from opportunistic smuggling towards possible pre-positioning for future attacks.
Such weapons have historically been used in strikes on security installations, government buildings and crowded public areas.
While overall weapon recoveries in the first quarter of 2026 were lower than in 2025, security analysts have cautioned against treating the decline as a sign of reduced threat.
They argue that the growing presence of compact, easily deployable weapons capable of causing mass casualties points to a changing and potentially more dangerous pattern of cross-border smuggling.