Survivor says terrorists spoke of avenging Afzal Guru’s death
PATHANKOT: Despite having his throat slit, Gurdaspur resident Rajesh Verma was fortunate to have survived the attack by terrorists, who abandoned him along with the sports utility vehicle (SUV), taking him for dead.
HT PHOTORajesh Verma, whose throat was slit by terrorists, at a hospital in Pathankot.Admitted to a private hospital, 40-year-old Verma told HT on Saturday that the attack on the Air Force base was the handiwork of four heavily armed terrorists in army uniform. Soon after abducting Verma and two others the terrorists told them that they would attack the Air Force base to avenge the hanging of their colleague Afzal Guru.
The terrorists, who carried assault rifles and grenades besides a GPS navigation system, had a clear idea about the location of the base.
In an exclusive interview with HT, Verma said, “As it was the New Year eve, my friend, superintendent of police Salwinder Singh, asked me to accompany him to pay obeisance at the mazaar of a saint at Kolian village in Narot Jaimal Singh block in Pathankot close to the border.
Around 10 pm, we started for the place via Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and reached there around 11 pm. After paying obeisance, we started the journey back to Gurdaspur via the Punjab area which we were told was a shortcut, he said.
As we were returning, four men in army uniform signalled our SUV, XUV 500, to stop around 12.30 am. As we stopped, the four who looked to be in their twenties barged into the vehicle and tied all of us with ropes. During the one-hour drive towards the Air Force base, they conversed in Urdu and said that they would attack the Air Force base,” Verma said.
“You killed Afzal Guru and now we will take revenge,” they kept saying as they continued beating us with rifle butts, said the survivor.
“As the car drove off for around 30 km, they dropped the SP and his elderly cook but took me along. When we reached near Tajpur village, from where they intended entering the Air Force base, they slit my throat and left me for dead in the abandoned SUV,” he said. “I managed to survive by controlling the flow of blood with a cloth and ran towards a gurdwara from where I managed a phone and informed my relative, who rushed me to hospital,” Verma said. He said the terrorists were unaware that they had kidnapped a Punjab Police officer as they again looked for him when the hooter of the vehicle suddenly went off. He said the terrorists also took his as well as the SP’s mobile phones.
He claimed that he had provided all clues to police and intelligence and it was confirmed on Friday itself that the terrorists would attack the Air Force establishment.
Before abducting them, the terrorists had also abducted an Innova driver Ikagar Singh along with the SUV from near Kathlor bridge and stabbed him to death.The terrorists took the SUV but left it as its tyre went flat.
For 24 hours, terrorists had free run
THE ATTACK HAS RAISED QUESTION MARK OVER SECURITY OF THE TOP DEFENCE UNIT, JUST 50 KM AWAY FROM INDIA-PAKISTAN BORDER
CHANDIGARH/PATHANKOT: A group of five terrorists was on the loose for more than 24 hours before they attacked the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, exposing chinks in the security set-up of the border districts of Punjab.
The audacious attack comes barely six months after a similar terror strike in Gurdaspur’s Dinanagar town that left 10 people, including a superintendent of police (SP) dead, exposing gaps in the security surveillance of the international border with Pakistan.
Commodore Uday Bhaskar (retd), director, Society for Policy Studies, said the fact that terrorists were on the loose for long reflects gaps in information and intelligence sharing between local and higher levels.
The attack started at 12.15am on Friday from Kathlore bridge, barely 15km from the border, when the four terrorists in army fatigues flagged down the sports utility vehicle (SUV) being driven by Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh. Little did he know that the men in uniform were terrorists who had stabbed and killed the driver of an Innova SUV and abandoned it when its tyres burst.
The terrorists barged into the SP’s vehicle, tied up and thrashed the three occupants before commandeering it for an hour. They threw the SP out of the moving vehicle near Tajpur and used the GPS to find their way to the Pathankot air base nearby.
GURDASPUR SP’S INPUT TAKEN LIGHTLY?
The SP called up the police control room with a villager’s help and later informed his seniors about the terrorists. The SP’s aides told the police that the terrorists said they were avenging the 2013 hanging of the Afzal Guru, who was convicted for the 2001 attack on Parliament.
Initially, it seems the police did not trust the SP. The police were even looking at the possibility of personal enmity behind the crime. Police authorities in neighbouring Jammu and Kangra districts were also caught unawares.
Former chief of bureau of police research and development, NR Wasan, termed the response of Punjab police as “underwhelming” after the senior officer was abducted.
“The state police is and will always remain the first responder and have to be in the forefront in countering terrorists and supporters,” he said.
CALLS TO PAKISTAN LEND CREDENCE
It was only when the Gurdaspur SP’s mobile phone, which was taken away by terrorists, was put on monitoring and calls were traced to Pakistan on Friday evening did the security agencies get to confirm the terror link. By Friday night, it was clear that the intended target of the terrorists was the Pathankot air base. Punjab police ADGP (crime) HS Dhillon, IG (border range) Lok Nath Angra, and DIG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh were in a meeting through the day.
HIGH ALERT BUT LOW FOLLOW-UP
Despite information about the presence of terrorists and the consequent high alert, they managed to enter the high-security Pathankot air force base, spread over 20 sq km.
Besides the IAF base in Pathankot, which was attacked by suspected Pakistani terrorists, Punjab has frontline IAF bases in Adampur (near Jalandhar), Halwara (near Ludhiana) and Bathinda and substantial army presence at various places, including Jalandhar (11 Corps), Pathankot, Amritsar, Bathinda (10 Corps) and Patiala (1st Armoured Division).
India to put JeM rider on upcoming talks
TERROR Delhi has evidence tracing the attack to Bahawalpur in Pakistan
NEW DELHI: India plans to ask Pakistan to take penal action against the outlawed Jaish-eMuhammed, behind the Pathankot attack, for a productive foreign secretary-level dialogue to take place in Islamabad on January 15.
AFP PHOTOIndian Army personnel stand guard while on patrol near the Air Force base in Pathankot after the attack on Saturday.According to highly placed sources, Delhi has evidence tracing the attack to Pakistan’s Bahawalpur, where JeM leader Masood Azhar — a key figure in the 1999 IC-814 hijacking — is based, and that it has the signature of the ISI.
Pakistan has condemned the attack and reaffirmed its commitment to fighting terror, but the Indian establishment is learnt to be upset about its inability to rein in its jihadis and their ISI sponsors.
“The terrorists (in Pathankot) had Pak DNA and were dropped near the Indian border in KathuaG-urdaspur sector on Dec 29-30 in a Land Cruiser and Pajero. If Pakistan wants the foreign secretary dialogue to be productive, PM Nawaz Sharif should arrest Maulana Masood Azhar and bring him to justice,” said a top diplomat.
After PM Narendra Modi’s surprise Lahore visit on Dec 25, the Indian security establishment was certain forces opposed to the newfound friendship would launch an attack to scuttle future dialogue. On Dec 28, national security adviser Ajit Doval met military and intelligence chiefs and internal security and foreign policy advisers to hone in on the group most likely to strike.
Some believed it would be the al Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) while others pointed to the Islamic State. But a section also said the attack could be carried out by the JeM, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Matters turned serious when Indian agencies picked up communication intercepts between JeM terrorists and their ISI handlers towards 2015-end signaling the date of the attack being initially fixed for Jan 1 and the target being the Pathankot air base. Further confirmation came with the abduction of Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh on Friday by five suspected terrorists who used his phone to call Pakistan.
Doval held another meeting with military and intelligence chiefs. They decided to deploy the National Security Guard and use the army’s Casspir bomb-proof vehicles. All air assets were removed from the base, where 168 NSG commandoes were deployed by Friday night. The Western Air Command chief was given the reins of the operation. Despite the high alert and eight-foot walls, the terrorists managed to get in and kill three IAF personnel.
“While India is all for talks, we need answers and action from Pak NSA Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjhua on the state involvement in the Pathankot attack. The international community should put pressure on Pakistan to act against its indigenous jihad factory. Else, India and Pakistan will talk past each other,” said a government official.
‘Salaam Alaikum’ was the reply on SP’s mobile phone
PATHANKOT: “Salaam Alaikum” was the reply when the gunman of the superintendent of police, who was thrashed by suspected Pakistani terrorists, called up on his mobile number after the news of the SP’s abduction along with his associates spread.
However, after the gunman told the call receiver that the mobile phone belonged to SP Salwinder Singh, the call was disconnected. It was the last conversation which was made on the SP’s phone, which is believed to be used by the terrorists to make calls to Pakistan.
“After we got alert about the incident (SP’s abduction), I tried making call on the SP sahib’s number. At around 3.26 am, the call got connected. When I said ‘hello’, the reply from the other side was ‘Salaam Alaikum’. I asked ‘aap kaun’ (who are you)? The receiver said ‘aap kaun’? Then I told him this is my SP sahib’s number. The call receiver said ‘SP sahib kaun’ (who SP sahib?). Then he disconnected the line,” said SP’s gunman Kulwinder Singh.
“I continued to say “hello, hello” but the phone line was disconnected,” Kulwinder told PTI. “It was the last call made on the SP sahib’s phone number,” said Kulwinder, who is Salwinder’s gunman for about five years.
SP’s driver Rajpal Singh said, “After I got information from the control room about the incident, I also tried calling SP sahib’s both mobile numbers. But I failed to connect it.” On Friday, Punjab Police had not ruled out the possibility that suspected militants had used SP’s mobile to make a call to Pakistan.
Pakistani terrorists had abducted and thrashed the SP and his two associates before dumping them some distance away and speeding away in his vehicle in the wee hours of Friday.
We acted on intelligence inputs: IAF
CHANDIGARH: The Western Air Command said on Saturday that the terrorists who stormed the air force station at Pathankot had planned to enter the technical zone so as to target aircraft. It also said that there were intelligence inputs about a probable attack on the airbase.
“Due to effective preparation and coordinated efforts by all security agencies, the terrorists were detected by the aerial surveillance platforms as soon as they entered the air force station. The infiltrators were immediately contained within a limited area, thus preventing them from entering the technical zone,” the Western Air Command said in a statement.
The statement added, “Intelligence inputs were available of a likely attempt by terrorists to infiltrate the military installation in Pathankot area. In response, preparatory actions had been taken by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to thwart any such attempt.” The Air Officer Commandingin-Chief of Western Air Command was among those who supervised the operation along with the army, NSG and the local police.
Security up at Bathinda air force station
FORMER IAF OFFICIAL RANJITH KK WAS RECENTLY ARRESTED FROM THIS AIR FORCE STATION ON THE CHARGES OF SPYING
BATHINDA: Following the terror attack on the Pathankot Indian Air Force (IAF) base, a highlevel meeting of IAF, army and Punjab Police officials was held at Bhisiana air force station, situated about 18km from here, even as security was beefed up on its premises.
SANJEEV KUMAR/HTPunjab Police and IAF personnel checking vehicles at the entrance gate of the Bhisiana air force station in Bathinda on Saturday.
It is this air force station from where 28-year-old leading aircraftsman Ranjith KK was arrested on December 29 by central agencies and the Delhi crime branch for allegedly passing on sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence agencies. Ranjith, who joined the air force in 2010, was reportedly posted at Bhisiana for the past almost three years. He is accused of spying and leaking vital information regarding movement of aircraft at Bathinda and other IAF bases across Punjab, including Pathankot.
Soon after receiving reports of the Pathankot terrorist attack, Nanak Singh, superintendent of police (headquarters), visited the air force station to review security arrangements.
COORDINATION MEETING
Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Swapan Sharma said a coordination meeting with IAF and army officials was held to work out ways to tackle a Pathankot-like situation.
Sharma added that elaborate deployment of security had been made inside the IAF station in view of the red alert sounded after the Pathankot terror attack.
“Intensive patrolling by police personnel will be done around the boundary wall of the air force station to keep tabs on every activity and individual,” Sharma added.
He said the Bathinda police would remain in touch with IAF officials to ensure better coordination.
Meanwhile, IAF personnel remained on their toes throughout the day. Vehicles were allowed to enter the air force station premises only after an elaborate inspection.
Jaish-e-Mohammed ultras sneaked in from rear side of air force base
PATHANKOT: The five Jaish-eMohammed terrorists, who were killed in an encounter with the security forces on Saturday, seemed to have sneaked in from the rear side of the Pathankot air force base that is spread in 20-km radius.
PTI PHOTOA chopper flies over the Indian Air Force base.
THE SPOT WHERE THE TERRORISTS ABANDONED THE GURDASPUR SP’S SUV IS ABOUT 1.5 KM FROM THE WALL OF THE AIRBASE
The area has dense foliage and elephant grass. The spot where terrorists abandoned the Gurdaspur superintendent of police (SP) Salwinder Singh’s SUV is about 1.5 km from the wall of the airbase.
Sources said the terrorists, taking cover of the elephant grass, managed to reach the boundary wall of the airbase. “It is likely that the terrorists scaled the 10-ft wall of the air force base to gain entry. Also, the wall has drain exit points that are covered with iron rods. These are also vulnerable points as one can enter the compound after cutting the wires,” said sources.
Some years ago, a bunch of drug addicts had cut the iron rods near Majra village, throwing air force officials into a tizzy.
Shooting star among 3 martyrs
GURDASPUR/CHANDIGARH: An ace shooter was among the three bravehearts who laid down their lives fighting the five Pakistanbased terrorists at the Pathankot air force base on Saturday.
A Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel, Hony Capt Fateh Singh of Gurdaspur’s Jhanda Gujjaran village took on the terrorists who had sneaked into the air base.
A national-level shooter, Fateh Singh had retired from the 15 Dogra Regiment and joined the DSC. The DSC is a specialised unit that provides security at defence ministry sites.
Fateh had made the country proud by clinching gold and silver in the 300m big bore team and individual events during the first Commonwealth Shooting Championship held in New Delhi in 1995.
Remembering Fateh, former chief coach of Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Col MS Chauhan said, “Fateh was not only an ace big bore shooter, but also a dedicated, brave and daring soldier of the Dogra Regiment.”
“I meet him for the first time at a big bore camp in Mhow in the mid-90s. Since then, we shared a close bonding. His demise has created a big void in the shooting arena,” said national shooting coach Dilip Singh Chandel.
Fateh, who was honoured by then Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, is survived by his wife Madhu Bala and sons Gurdeep Singh Deepu and Nitin Thakur. Deepu is currently serving in the 15 Dogra regiment.
Apart from Fateh, another Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel and an Indian Air Force (IAF) official were killed in the Pathankot attack.
While the IAF man’s identity is yet to be ascertained, the other slain DSC personnel has been identified as Havildar Kulwant Singh of Chak Sharif village in Gurdaspur district.
Kulwant, who retired from the army in 2004, joined the DSC in 2006. He is survived by his mother Swarn Kaur, wife Harbhajan Kaur and two sons — Surinder Singh and Gursharan Singh. He was transferred from Odisha to Pathankot air station two months ago.
The villagers rushed to the houses of the two martyrs as soon as the reports of their supreme sacrifice poured in and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.