Delhi. June 27
The Indian Government has increased its military presence on the western border, confirming long-standing fears that the fighting in East Bengal may soon affect the sensitive and disputed northern state of Kashmir and the western section of the Indo-Pakistan border.

Indian officials said yesterday that the Government believed that Pakistan might send “infiltrators in the guise of freedom fighters” into Kashmir to divert Indian and world attention away from the issues in East Pakistan.

As a result, the Indian forces had been placed on alert on the western front and the cease-fire line in Kashmir.

The situation on both borders is going from bad to worse. Hardly a day passes without a heavy exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistan troops across the East-West Bengal frontier.

In the meantime, reports from Indian correspondents in Washington claim that the United States has refused to meet an Indian request to intercept two Pakistan ships sailing from New York to Karachi with a cargo of American arms. This is likely to influence a debate over India's future course of action in the Lower House of Parliament.

Until now the Government has been attempting to stave off demands for drastic action with the argument that the international community had been persuaded to put pressure on President Yahya Khan. But disclosure of American arms sales to Pakistan will certainly undermine this policy of restraint.

West Bengal is expected to be placed under the emergency rule of the central Government within the next 48 hours. It is learnt that the coalition Government in West Bengal will resign tomorrow to pave the way for President’s rule