The Pakistan Rangers, who guard the border, denied firing into India and said they had no knowledge of the incident.

Their stunned Indian colleagues immediately retaliated. After a lull, a second round of firing reportedly took place at night and again after dawn Friday, leading to further Indian retaliation.

'A bullet hit his back and it has still not been taken out,' said Gogoi's colleague Shrikant Pawar. A doctor said the pros and cons of removing the bullet was being discussed.

Rajinder Singh's right eye was bandaged with the bullet still inside. 'He has been referred to specialists,' the doctor said.

India has erected a barbed wire fence inside Indian territory to check infiltration along the 220-km international border in the Jammu region as well as the 720-km Line of Control (LoC) dividing the state between India and Pakistan.

Officials said the barbed wire fence was inspected.

'There was no breach, which rules out the possibility of infiltration. Also, there were no tell-tale signs to suggest that infiltrators have come in. But we are closely watching and are on high alert.'

The police and the army, however, have their fingers crossed. A high security alert has been been stepped up in and around Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

Intelligence reports say some militants may have sneaked in to strike during the coming festivals of Eid-ul-Fitr and Navratra. Eid is on Monday while Navratra starts Saturday.

The police have erected additional frisking points on various roads leading to the city. Villagers around the area have been asked to remain alert about suspicious characters.