Pathankot Live: SP Salwinder Singh Questioned by NIA
Day 4 of Pathankot attack: Col. Niranjan’s last rites performed. Three key witnesses recollect night of abduction.
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- India’s NSA Ajit Doval has handed over information to his Pakistani counterpart, reports Times Now.
- NIA DG: The terrorists were from Pakistan.
- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar says investigating agencies have initial leads about the terrorists.
- Punjab Police SP Salwinder Singh, who claims to have been kidnapped by the terrorists, defends himself saying he was outnumbered and lacked arms.
- SP’s cook Madan Gopal: Police should have trusted us and acted on our call faster.
- NIA DG Sharad Kumar is scheduled to visit Pathankot tomorrow.
- NSG Lt Col Niranjan’s last rites have been performed in his hometown of Palakkad, Kerala.
PM Narendra Modi’s Silence on Pathankot
CNN IBN’s Zakka Jacob interviewed BJP member Subramanian Swamy, Congress member AM Singhvi and commentators Ajai Shukla and Vir Sanghvi about the silence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Pathankot attack.
BJP member Subramanian Swamy went as far as saying that the absence of representatives of the central government at funerals of the martyrs was merely because of absence of a formal invite by the state government of Kerala.
The absence of a concrete statement from PM Modi on the incident has attracted criticism from not only the Congress party, but also commentators Sanghvi and Shukla.
Accountability Denied Or Unproven?
A statement of accountability of the attack, even though absent from PM’s office, was discussed on Times Now, as Pakistani representatives debated that even though Pakistan PM Sharif has promised “decisive action”, the evidence will be investigated by Pakistan.
The Indian counterparts, however, kept up the list of evidence including ammunition with Pakistani Army mark on it and phone calls traced back to Pakistan.
The evidence will be provided to Pakistan government through an NSA-level meeting which will happen before the Foreign Secretary level talks on 15-16 January in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Trouble For SP Salwinder Singh
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is questioning SP Salwinder Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma, and Verma’s cook Madan Gopal are being questioned in the investigation of the attack on Pathankot air base.
On the intermediate night of 31 December and 1 January, the official vehicle of SP Salwinder Singh was hijacked on the Jammu-Pathankot highway. Inmates of the car – Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma, and Verma’s cook Madan Gopal – were thrown out of the car.
Another car was hijacked by the terrorists after the attack and the driver of the second car was killed by the terrorists identified as members of a Pakistan-based terror group, Jaish-e-Mohammed.
ISI Link From 2014
Airman Sunil Kumar, an Indian Air Force personnel from Pathankot, was arrested for passing on crucial information about the Indian Air Force in September 2014.
He was, however, released as no chargesheet was filed against him within the stipulated three months after his arrest.
Kumar was allegedly passing on information through a series of emails to a Pakistani woman named Meena Raina, in exchange for money.
It is this information passed on by Kumar that may have helped the terrorists in the Pathankot attack, according to a report by CNN-IBN.
Another question raised was against the increasing number of security personnel getting either honey-trapped or falling prey to the monetary gains through spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
KK Ranjith, another Airman honey-trapped into spying for ISI through a social media account, is one of the 14 cases of such incidents in the past two months.
Punjab Police Denies Delay In Sharing of Information
Suresh Arora, the Punjab police DGP, is all praise for the armed forces. He has said that both the assets and families are safe because the security of the country rests in the best hands.
Arora has said that a slip recovered from one of the terrorists is what led the police to believe that the Jaish-e-Mohammad – a Pakistan based group – was involved.
According to Arora, SP Sulwinder Singh shared details of the attack that happened on his car at 3:23 am. Contradicting reports that Singh’s account was ignored, Arora says, that information was shared with all relevant agencies.
The armed forces, especially the NSG, were deployed as soon as the information from SP Sulwinder Singh was shared.
He stressed that the police and the armed forces worked in tandem and that there was no delay in sharing of the information.
When asked what preparations were made since the forces received intel about a possible strike, Arora said,
Was Security Upgraded Post Dinanagar?
Arora was questioned about security upgrades in the area after the attack in Dinanagar, Gurdaspur in which two BSF jawans were killed.
Also on The Quint: Udhampur Attack: Captured Terrorist Usman Speaks on Camera
When asked for specifics, Arora refused to comment in public saying the media must remember, “the enemy is watching”.
However, post the Pathankot air base attack, following upgrades in civil security around the area are expected. Even as Arora indirectly pitched for strengthening of the district police, he said measures that are expected to be taken are,
- Post SP (Operation) to coordinate different operations in the area.
- One AIG counter-intel will be posted.
- Install CCTVs.
- Hi-tech pre-established barriers around the area.
Nawaz Sharif Speaks With Modi
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called PM Modi to condemn the Pathankot attack.
Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, has also tweeted that Sharif has promised “prompt and decisive” action against the terrorists.
On 4 January, Indian government has decided to share intel about the terrorists with Pakistan.
The exchange of information will happen during an NSA-level talks that will happen before the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries meet on 15-16 January in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The possibility of a NSA-level meet, before the two Foreign Secretaries meet, was reported by IBNLive on 4 January.
Indian officials said, whenever the two sides meet, all proof of Pakistani links of the terrorists would be given.
Parrikar Claims Security Gaps
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar addressed the media for the first time since the attack on the Pathankot air base. He confirmed that six terrorists were neutralised and seven Indian army personnel were martyred in the gunbattle that ensued for 36-38 hours starting 2 January.
Even though all the terrorists have been killed, combing operations will continue for some time as the extent of the breach into the 1,900-acre campus is unknown.
He also confirmed that the NIA will conduct a DNA test on the body of the sixth terrorist, although it is unclear what the NIA will match these samples with.
Speaking of the ammunition recovered, Parrikar said,
Media reports suggest there has been a fresh, controlled explosion at the air base while Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was present. Combing operations are underway.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army chief Dalbir Singh and IAF chief Arup Raha will brief the media shortly.
The NIA DG, Sharad Kumar, told CNN-IBN that he will visit the Pathankot for examination. The recovered bodies of the terrorists will be sent for post-mortem and DNA sampling.
DG Sharad Kumar also divulged that the terrorist were from Pakistan and this can be deciphered based on the phone calls that were made using a cellphone.
Claims of Prime Witnesses: ‘They Asked Me How Far Amritsar Was’
- SP Salwinder Singh
- Madan Gopal, SP’s cook
- Rajesh Verma (jeweller)
SP: While in the car, the terrorists were talking Punjabi/Urdu and were speaking with their commander after snatching my phone. They came back to kill us after dropping us off when they realised I was a senior police inspector. According to Singh, they taped his eyes shut and tied his hands with rope.
The SP’s cook claims the terrorists had a small cellphone which they used to contact their commander. He said the terrorists beat them with the AK-47 rifle butts.
The SP’s friend Rajesh Verma, who was also abducted, said he was driving the car and he noticed that they were young and active people.
Verma, whose throat was slit, said the four young men had control of all the cellphones. He claims the terrorists asked him how far Amritsar was and took him along after leaving the SP and Gopal on the way in a jungle.
Verma said the terrorists told him they had no intention to harm him but when he did not cooperate, they used their knife on him.
With these accounts recollected by the three key witnesses in the Pathankot terror attack, the question still remains why the SP and the cook let free?
Last Rites of NSG Lt Col Niranjan
The last rites of NSG Lt Col Niranjan, who lost his life in the Pathankot attack, has taken place in Palakkad.
Watch his final journey here.
Not Only a Terror Attack but An Attack on India – Anand Sharma
Former Union Minister of India and Congress member Anand Sharma said the attack on Pathankot is an attack on the entire nation and that this new year started with a sense of pain. Adding, that it was not only a terror attack and an attack on humanity but also was it an attack on India.
Focus on India, Shiv Sena Tells Modi
Lashing out at the Central government in the wake of the Pathankot militant attack, the Shiv Sena said on Tuesday that it had warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to trust Pakistan and that time has now come for him to focus on India rather than trying to unite the world.
Read the full story here.
SP Defends Self, but Is Anyone Buying It?
The Ministry of Home Affairs has now asked the Punjab government to submit a full report on the Pathankot Attack.
Punjab Police SP Salwinder Singh and two others were abducted in his official car by four-five men. He has given an account of what happened to him and how the terrorists were dressed, but when asked as to why he didn’t react faster, he said, “I didn’t have any weapon. How could I offer any resistance alone?”
Read the full story here.
NIA Team Reaches Pathankot
A team of NIA officials and the DGP have reached Pathankot. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar along with Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag will also visit the Pathankot air base.
The visit comes at a time when the government has ordered a security audit of all vital defence installations in the country to find out the possible security loopholes.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting on internal security this morning, where NSA Ajit Doval and senior security officials were present.
NSA Ajit Doval Hands Over Info to Pak NSA
Pakistan, meanwhile, has condemned the terrorist act. According to Times Now India’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval spoke to his Pakistan counterpart and handed over information on the Pathankot attacks. Pakistan has assured their full cooperation in the probe.
A statement released by the External Affairs Ministry of Pakistan says, “Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism” and “Pakistan government is in constant touch with India and is committed to the dialogue process.”
The United States said that it expects Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators of the terror attack on IAF base in Pathankot.
Martyrs Laid to Rest
The brave souls who were killed in the gun battle with the terrorists in the Pathankot attack were laid to rest in different parts of the country. While NSG Lt Col Niranjan Kumar was laid to rest in Kerala, Commando Gursewak Singh was cremated in Ambala.
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