Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, January 8
Pointing out that in most cases information from locals pertaining to the movement of suspicious persons wearing military pattern clothes and carrying haversacks turned out to be misleading and caused inconvenience to the people at large, the Army has advised police personnel and civilians to refrain from using such attire.Thanking the public for providing information and keeping vigil at village level, the Army authorities said the Army and the police kept getting information about suspicious activities of persons and search operations thereon were inescapable to ensure safety and security.An advisory issued by the Western Command today asked private security agencies, police, central forces and civilians not to wear combat pattern dresses as these might lead to false alarms. It also asked relatives of armed forces personnel and ex-servicemen not to use items of military uniform that they might be having.It said shopkeepers should not sell combat-pattern cloth, uniforms or Army equipment as it was illegal. It has requested the police and the civil administration to crackdown on those indulging in such activities.The Army has also exhorted the youth to use social media to spread awareness and start a campaign to prevent Army uniforms and equipment being used as a fashion statement.
Four police officers shifted to border belt
- Chandigarh: In a move to strengthen police in Pathankot and Gurdaspur, the state government has posted recently inducted IPS officers there. Gulneet Singh Khurana has been posted as SP (Headquarters), Gurdaspur. ASP Dinanagar Akhil Chaudhary has been posted as SP (Investigations), Pathankot, while Jaspal Singh, a PPS officer, has been given the charge of SP (Operations), Pathankot. Another IPS officer, Surinder Lamba has been transferred as ASP, Dinanagar.
After tip-off, security tightened around mortuary
Tribune News Service,Pathankot, January 8
Civil hospital doctors have sent the DNA samples of all the six terrorists killed in the January 2 Air Force station attack to a Chandigarh laboratory.Doctors confirmed that they had conducted the post- mortem examinations of four bodies and the remaining two were “charred and mutilated beyond recognition.”“The bodies of two terrorists were packed and have been sent directly to the lab with the mandatory post-mortem reports. It was not possible to conduct the autopsies on these bodies as these were badly charred, probably due to the explosives being carried by the militants. We have noted the details of the clothes they were wearing,” said Dr Bhupinder Singh, Senior Medical Officer.After the July 27, 2015 Dinanagar attack, the Gurdaspur civil hospital doctors had refused to do the post-mortem examinations citing various reasons. The autopsies were finally done after Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha and IPS officer Akhil Chowdhury camped in the hospital and supervised the proceedings. At that time, Gurdaspur SMO Dr Sudhir Kumar was transferred for not abiding by the orders given by his seniors.However, in Pathankot, the authorities faced no such problems.A doctors’ team, headed by Dr Tarsem Singh, District Health Officer, was constituted and the post-mortems were conducted without any hiccup. Initially, there were some apprehensions that the doctors would cite ‘security concerns’ and refuse to perform the autopsies. However, the fears turned out to be unfounded as the job was done in four hours.Acting on a tip-off, SSP RK Bakshi today tightened security in the civil hospital where the bodies are kept. Police officers have confirmed that the place where the bodies would be buried won’t be made public.
THE FALLOUT
Capt warns of similar attack
Patiala
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday warned of a similar terror strike as he claimed that Punjab was not at all prepared for an attack if the terrorists decide to target some civilian installation. “The state, due to its long border along Pakistan — part of which has proved to be porous, needs to take its vulnerability seriously,” he said.
Bhittewad (Amritsar)
Don’t politicise attack: CM
Slamming the Opposition for politicising the Pathankot terror attack, CM Parkash Singh Badal on Friday said that at least sensitive issues related to national security must be spared of cheap politics. Interacting with mediapersons on the sidelines of a Sangat Darshan in Rajasansi Assembly segment here today, the CM said, “Our soldiers have valiantly protected the honour of the country, but some political outfits are washing dirty linen in it for vested interests.”
Pathankot
MES electrician under lens
A Military Engineering Service (MES) electrician, who along with some other colleagues, was responsible for the maintenance of flood lights installed at the periphery of the 1,900-acre Air Force station, is being questioned by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) team. Some flood lights installed near the wire fencing on the periphery of the air base were facing the sky when the January 2 attack took place.
Chandigarh
Probe against SP
Even as SP Salwinder Singh has been given a clean chit in the Pathankot terror strike, he still finds himself facing an inquiry of another kind. Following allegations levelled by a Tanda-based woman, Punjab DGP has ordered a fact-finding inquiry against him. The woman has levelled accusations of bigamy against Salwinder Singh who is now posted at Jalandhar.
Chandigarh
Probe sought in spy casesThe Bharat Chetna Manch, which is an organisation of Pathankot-based advocates, on Friday demanded a high-level probe into the alleged laxity of Punjab Police officials and intelligence agencies for the lack or proper action against spies. Kulbushan Manhas, president of the organisation, said the enemy countries have been cultivating one spy after another using allurements, but our law-enforcement agencies were not strict with them. The organisation listed two cases for probe. One case needing probe was the ex-airman Sunil Bhaati case. The second was of a Pakistani couple who stayed in Pathankot under Indian identities and were caught in 2009.