Jupinderjit Singh,Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, January 3

Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, who was “let off” by a group of terrorists who had kidnapped him, remains at the centre of the investigation into the Air Base attack.“I am a victim in the terror incident and I am being wrongly accused of misconduct in my personal life. I am clear and an investigation, if any, will prove it soon,” he told The Tribune.Salwinder also lodged an FIR at the Narot Jaimal Singh police station about his kidnapping last evening.Salwinder said he was not in the detention of any security agency, after his reported questioning all day yesterday.A departmental Sexual Harassment Committee headed by an IG-rank officer had visited Gurdaspur last week after five women constables, posted with the district police, accused him of sexual harassment. A senior official involved in the inquiry said the SP was transferred pending further inquiry and on administrative grounds to PAP, Jalandhar, two days before the terrorists waylaid him.It is ironical that the SPis a prime witness as well as a suspect, considering the coincidence that he was travelling on the route taken by the terrorists in the wee hours.While being questioned on his kidnapping claims, investigators are also probing his personal conduct.Pathankot SSP RK Bakshi, however, said that Salwinder was a complainant and not a suspect, “He is neither an accused nor a suspect. The other complaints against him are unrelated with the Pathankot police or with the terror attack.”

Intelligence alert came on Dec 26

Mohit Khanna,Tribune News Service,Ludhiana, January 3

“Fifteen terrorists have sneaked into India to carry out some major attack on New Year.” This message was sent to all police districts by DGP (Intelligence) Anil Kumar Sharma on December 26, six days before a group of terrorists waylaid a Punjab Police SP.If the Intelligence input was indeed credible, the terrorists remained in the area for a long time and went untraced despite the alert.Despite this alert, which senior officials term a general alert, the terrorists were able to kidnap a police officer and take away his blue beacon SUV, besides another Innova, and attack the Air Force station.Sources said IG (Counter Intelligence) Pramod Ban had spoken to the SSPs of various districts, especially border districts, to work on the inputs.“We get such general alerts. The information was not specific about Punjab. Still, we took it seriously. We intensified night patrolling, set up more ‘nakas’ and increased general vigil. More force was alerted when the SP incident came to light,” an officer said.

Pathankot, a tactically important air base

Vijay Mohan,Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, January 3

Located on the northern tip of Punjab just about 40 km from the India-Pakistan international border and close to the Punjab-Jammu and Kashmir-Himachal Pradesh inter-state boundaries, the Pathankot Air Force Station is a tactically important base.Part of the Western Air Command, it is home to No. 18 Wing, currently being commanded by Air Commodore JS Dhamoon.The 108 Squadron “Hawkeyes” that fly the MiG-21 fighters and the 125 Helicopter Unit “Gladiators” that operate the Mi-35 helicopter gunships in support of the Army are based here, besides a Pechora air defence missile squadron and other auxiliary outfits.The air base is spread over 75 acres and in November 2006, a civil enclave attached to it for commercial flights was inaugurated in November 2006 by Praful Patel, the then minister for civil aviation. However, no civilian domestic flights operate from this airport.The air base saw action during the Indo-Pak wars. It was the target of Pakistani special forces during the 1965 War though no real damage was done. An air strike was launched on it by Pakistan in 1971 in which part of the runway was damaged.It has also seen mobilisation during other operations such as Safed Sagar during the 1999 Kargil conflict and Parakram in 2002 after the terrorist attack on Parliament in December 2001 as well as training exercises.

New Delhi, January 2Former International rifle shooter Subedar Major Fateh Singh (retd), who won a gold and silver at Commonwealth Shooting Championship in the capital back in 1995, was martyred while fighting terrorist in Pathankot.He was 51 years old and was part of the Defence Security Core (DSC). He was posted with the Dogra regiment.Parent body of shooting the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) condoled the death of the former international player who lost his life while fighting for his motherland.NRAI president Raninder Singh said: “The country has lost its beloved son and a sharp shooter. May the Almighty grant peace to the great soldier.“The shooting fraternity prays for the departed soul and hope the Almighty gives strength to the family of this great soldier to bear with their irreparable loss,” he added.After retirement, he joined the Defence Security Corps (India) as subedar and was initially posted at Army War College, Mhow.He was posted in Pathankot about two years ago. He had won gold in the Big Bore Rifle Three Position and silver in Big Bore Rifle Prone Position at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in 1995.”He was a thorough gentlemen and great athlete. He worked as an active member of Indian shooting team. It is a very sad day for us. He sacrificed his life for the country. I condole his death,” the NRAI president said.”He was a fantastic shooter. He won gold in Big Bore Rifle Three Position and silver in Big Bore Rifle Prone Postion at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships. He used to represent the Army,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia said.CK Chaudhury, a pistol shooter at the Army Marksmenship Unit in Mhow, said: “Fateh Singh was an inspiration to all of us. He was like my guru and guardian when we were together a part of the shooting team at the Army Marksmenship Unit in Mhow.” — Agencies

Terrorists may have sneaked in through Bamiyal

New Delhi, January 2

The four heavily armed Pakistani terrorists, who carried out the suicide attack on the IAF base, are believed to have infiltrated into India during the intervening night of December 30-31 from a spot near Bamiyal village in Pathankot, located close to the international border.The terrorists, official sources said, crossed over near Shakargarh in Pakistan to Bamiyal village and later changed into Army fatigues before kidnapping Salwinder Singh, a Superintendent of Police-rank officer, who was shunted out from Gurdaspur to take charge as Assistant Commandant of 75th battalion of Punjab Armed Police, at Kolian village.There were three occupants in the vehicle when it was hijacked by four militants that included Singh’s jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and the driver.While the terrorists slit the throat of other two, the police officer, who is facing charges of alleged breach of discipline, was released later and the vehicle was abandoned at Tajpur village, 2 km from the IAF’s Pathankot airbase.One of the militants is alleged to have used the phone of the jeweller, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital, to make a call to Bhawalpur in Pakistan which was intercepted by intelligence agencies.After the daylong operation today, all five terrorists, suspected to be from Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit, were eliminated by the joint team of police, army and NSG.The area from where the terrorists crossed over has thick foliage of elephant grass which provides an automatic cover for them, they said.A tributary of the Beas enters into Pakistan from this village and this route is quite famous for drug smugglers to enter India. — PTI

Porous’ border

• The four armed Pakistani terrorists who struck the IAF base are believed to have infiltrated into India on the intervening night of December 30-31 from a spot near Bamiyal village in Pathankot
• The terrorists, official sources say, crossed over near Shakargarh in Pakistan to Bamiyal village and later changed into Army fatigues before kidnapping an SP-rank officer at Kolian village

Major Terrorist attacks in Punjab over the last 15 years

March 1, 2001: A 135-yard underground tunnel detected by security personnel across the India-Pakistan border in Gurdaspur district. The tunnel was suspected to have dug by terroristsJanuary 1, 2002: Three Army personnel killed and five others injured when unidentified terrorists attacks them at a firing range in Damtal, close to Punjab’s border HimachalJanuary 31, 2002: Two persons killed and at least 12 injured after an explosion ripped a bus belonging to the Punjab Roadways at Patrana in Hoshiarpur districtMarch 31, 2002: Two people killed and 28 others injured in a bomb blast on Ferozepur-Dhanbad Express train at Daroha, 20 km from Ludhiana. The bomb was allegedly planted by terroristsApril 28, 2006: At least eight persons wounded in a bomb blast on a bus carrying 45 passengers at Jalandhar bus terminus. No one took the responsibility for the blastOctober 14, 2007: Seven persons, including a 10-year old child, killed and 40 injured in a bomb blast at Shringar cinema hall in Ludhiana. The hall was full on the festive occasion of IdJuly 27, 2015: Seven persons, including a Superintendent of Police, killed when three terrorists carry out a strike on a police station in Gurdaspur district. All three militants also killedJanuary 2, 2016: Five terrorists and three security personnel killed when militants in Army fatigues storm an Indian Air Force base during early hours in Pathankot district.  — PTI

Send your daughters to fight for India, appeals Indian Army Chief

New Delhi: Stressing on the need to empower girls, Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on Saturday said that he wants maximum girls to join armed forces.

Give your daughters the best education and opportunities that are at par with boys to prepare them as future soldiers of the country,” Suhag was quoted as saying by Time of India during his first visit to his native village Bishan in Haryana’s Jhajjar district after assuming the office of Indian Army chief.

Well received by his fellow villagers, Suhag also sought blessings from his clan deity. He was accompanied by his wife and children.

Suhag said that if he could become army chief after studying under the trees in Bishan, then they could achieve anything in life. Suhag said that he wants to see more defence officers from the village on General rank. He also announced to institute two scholarships of Rs 2,100 each which would be given to the meritorious students of the school every year. The scholarship would continue till his lifetime, TOI report stated.

Former Army Chief OP Malhotra passes away at 93

Sandeep Dikshit,Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, December 29

General Om Prakash Malhotra, a warrior to the core who was never shy of fighting for principles even out of uniform, passed away today in Gurgaon. He was 93 and is survived by his wife Saroj, son and former diplomat Ajay and a daughter who lives in London, said sources close to the family.The General was part of that exceptional band of Indian Army officers whose field experience spanned continents and epochs. He was part of a still rare breed of men and women who chucked sinecures on the matter of ethics, as he did as Governor of Punjab in 1991, when his opinion and efforts were overlooked by the Centre.In the pages of military history, Punjab remembers Gen Malhotra with gratitude for the ‘Battle for Sialkot’ during the 1965 war. The thrust by the 1 Artillery Brigade under his command forced Pakistan to thin forces from its main attack column that had overrun Khemkaran and was making a bid to drive a wedge through the heart of Punjab.But in the annals of political Punjab, Gen Malhotra’s commitment to ethics and morality of governance stands tall over his military exploits at a time when a sharp wedge was again being driven through the state’s heart. It was 1990 and Punjab needed a firm and bipartisan person as Governor to battle militancy and navigate the state to democracy at the same time.This Srinagar-born soldier, who had done field service on both of India’s unruly flanks of North Western Frontier Province and the Burma border even before Independence, fitted the bill.Gen Malhotra was not just another officer with a glittering career in the military. He had served as Defence Attache in Moscow and as Ambassador to Indonesia after retiring as the Indian Army’s 13th Chief of Staff.Taking over as Punjab Governor, Gen Malhotra brought about operational seamlessness among difference security forces deployed in the state. He also ordered an amnesty that allowed militants with weapons to surrender. The initiative helped at least some who had picked up the gun to get absorbed into the mainstream.At the same time, the General nudged the state towards elections and tested the waters with municipal polls. Encouraged, the Chandra Shekhar government sought conduct of Assembly elections in Punjab and Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan gave the go-ahead. As Punjab went into the election mode, the political scene in Delhi changed. PV Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister didn’t want the elections to take place because his party had already announced a boycott. Seshan seemed to have sensed the political wind and cancelled the polls.“I have been through three wars, I have been a General in the wars, but I have never felt as defeated as I feel today after this announcement by the EC that the elections have been postponed,” commented a dejected Gen Malhotra while walking out of his office into the sunset and to lasting acclaim.He then took to charitable causes. “He lived a full life. No regrets. It was only in the last three-four days that he had stopped eating,” said a family source.

Ex-army chief, Punjab governor, OP Malhotra dead

At the height of militancy in Punjab, general Malhotra was appointed as governor in 1990. His son Ajay Malhotra recalls that within 24 hours of joining the gubernatorial post, he went to pay obeisance at Golden Temple despite some groups boycotting his visit.

During his tenure, he also visited the Durgiana temple in Amritsar, and later Bhikhiwind — a border town, which had witnessed large-scale migration. He resigned from the post in protest against the delay in conducting the state polls. Malhotra is survived by his son and daughter. His wife died three years ago.

His son Ajay, who was the Indian ambassador to the Russian Federation between 2011 and 2013, told Hindustan Times that for the last sixteen years, his father’s life was dedicated to charity and social work.Inspired by him, we started two charity programmes — Chikitsa and Shiksha — which have served a large number of people in the fields of health and education,” Ajay said. His father, he said, was a man of action and preferred to be on the field, working for the society.

Lt Gen DS Hooda, GOC-in-C, Northern Command, called on Governor NN Vohra here today. Lt Gen Hooda just returned from a visit to China, where he had led an Indian military delegation.They discussed issues related to security management along the international border, Line of Control and Line of Actual Control and counter-terrorism operations. — TNS

and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged… —Genesis 8As soon as the idea of the Deluge had subsided,/A hare stopped in the clover and swaying flowerbells, /and said a prayer to the rainbow,/through the spider’s web…. Gush, pond,– foam, roll on the bridge and over the woods; /black palls and organs, lightning and thunder, rise and roll; /waters and sorrows rise and launch the floods again. — Arthur Rimbaud: ‘After The Flood’There is a gentle calmness, and great sense of relief that presides over the simple statement concluding the Genesis account of the Flood. God, we are told, made a covenant with man after the Flood, undertaking never again to visit such a cataclysm upon him in punishment for his sins, and the rainbow was the symbol, and the reminder, of this compact. The understanding, of course, was that, for his part, man would have learnt never again to give cause for another Flood. But in Rimbaud’s poem, it is an animal and not man that expresses gratitude to the rainbow, while the latter returns to his own old ways, causing the poet to invite Nature to unleash her fury again upon the earth. There is a frightening contrast between the soothing Genesis account of the end of the Flood and the violence of Rimbaud’s imagery of what might come to pass after ‘the idea of the deluge has subsided.’ It is a warning to be constantly conscious of what led up to the Flood and of the pain and suffering it caused; an invitation to introspection and stock-taking; and an injunction against easy forgetfulness of both cause and effect.There is then a case for such introspection now, after the flood in Chennai, in a mood of some humility and soberness that abjures edgy defensiveness toward, and angry rejection of, criticism in favour of receptivity toward messages of lessons that must be learned and warnings of mistakes that must not be repeated. The worst and most self-defeatingly insensitive response would be one that seeks a punitive insistence on the court-room requirements of impeccable proof and evidence for every adverse assessment made, as opposed to a patient allowance of criticism, or even recrimination, from a citizenry that has lived through a hellish experience. The state and society alike must accept the wisdom of a stock-taking — one that covers aspects of both state functioning and societal response —that is informed by such an attitude of patient objectivity. It is in this spirit that the following comments on governance and social behaviour in a time of crisis are offered.Casualties directly attributable to the flood in southern India and Sri Lanka are estimated to be in the region of 400 deaths, the destruction of a hundred thousand structures, and losses amounting to Rs.20,000 crore. This is a crushing blow for any region in a country in the low-to-middle-income range. A further major human loss is that due to morbidity – principally in the form of gastro-intestinal disease unleashed by the impact of the flood on public hygiene and sanitation, a situation compounded by the damages suffered in the flood by the public and private health facilities.There are obvious lessons in this for governance and state policy. The state cannot embark too soon on efforts aimed at the systematic maintenance of tanks and canals, the prevention of deforestation, the regular repair and cleaning up of drainage outlets, the upkeep of roads that should be built to withstand the routine phenomenon of rains in a tropical country, the clearance of structures that are unauthorised (or ought never to have been authorised) standing on water-ways and flood outlets, and attentiveness to environmentalists who have for long been warning against compromising the ecological status of marshlands. These are aspects of long-term policy. In the short term, it would appear that the official machinery was found wanting in its ability to deal quickly and effectively with the flood crisis. Indeed, a major issue that has arisen is the manner and timing of the release of water from the Chembarambakkam tank in Chennai. A substantial body of opinion maintains that the water should have been released in stages over time, in manageable quantities, and not all at once in a crisis response to the possibility of a breaching of the reservoir’s walls, with little warning to the citizenry or regard for the carrying capacity of the reservoir’s flood outlets. With more considered state action, Chennai might well have been spared the drowning it actually ended up experiencing. It is just as well that the written, visual and social media, and political parties, were on the spot to facilitate the flow of information and opinion on the rains and how they were dealt with. What Amartya Sen said in the context of famine is clearly valid also for other natural disasters which are aided by human intervention: the role of parliamentary democracy and a free Press cannot be overemphasised. Amartya Sen also pointed out, in the context of famine, that starvation is largely a matter of what he called ‘entitlement-failure’. In a time of floods or famine or cyclones, the most vulnerable are those equipped with the poorest entitlement structures. In Chennai, the greatest suffering was visited upon those without access to even semi-pucca dwelling units (an aspect of capability-failure that is seldom taken into account in assessments of money-metric poverty). Our favourite pathology, caste, again raised its ugly head as an aspect of societal response to the floods. In parts of the state, upper-caste people diverted relief supplies intended for Dalits, thus ensuring for them exposure to both the greatest initial vulnerability and the least subsequent redress. Tellingly, the job of cleaning up the garbage — ranging from animal carcasses to human excrement – was left to safai-karmacharis of predictable caste affiliation: these have been requisitioned from other parts of the state to clean up Chennai, with apparently little attention paid to the amenities of gloves, boots, masks, or even proper arrangements of accommodation and food for the workers.Religion, too, has had an interesting part to play in the sociology of the flood. By all accounts, the Muslim community has quietly and unflamboyantly played a magnificent role in rescue and relief operations conducted in Chennai, with countless accounts related of mosques offering shelter and food to thousands of people rendered homeless in the floods. It bears particular mention that the flooded temple in the Kotturpuram area of Chennai was restored by Muslim volunteers. Christian churches, too, played a stellar role in throwing their doors open to men, women and children in need. Amongst the many lessons to be learnt after the flood, surely one signal lesson should be that of calling into question the ambition that some of us harbour of sending certain people off to Pakistan!

Washington, December 22

India has sought from the US 100 latest unmanned aerial vehicles, both armed and surveillance versions, worth $2 billion to bolster its arsenal amid recurring incursions by Chinese soldiers.Industry sources familiar with New Delhi’s interest and ongoing talks between the two governments said, “India has requested for the latest Avenger drones, which is basically an unmanned combat air vehicle, and is mainly being sought with an eye on China.”It has also sought Predator XP category which is a surveillance version for internal security issues and terrorist threats.According to industry sources, India is looking for about 100 drones worth $2 billion.However, while talks in this regard have accelerated in the past few months, the US has not made any formal commitment or given a public indication pending India’s application to joining Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).Italy, which is upset with New Delhi’s treatment to its marines, appears to have currently blocked India becoming a member of MTCR.However, both Indian and US officials are confident that they will be able to get through the last hurdle in the next few months, thus making them possible to take the defence trade, which will include armed drones, to the next level.“Yes, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) is aware of India’s interest in Predator-series Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA),” said Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of the US and International Strategic Development of General Atomics. — PTI

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday also touched upon cost overruns in submarine repairs and also slammed the Railway ministry over its safety record.
DELAY, COST OVERRUNS IN SUBMARINE REPAIRS
The CAG has hit out at the defence ministry for poorly planning the refit of a Russia-made submarine that led to the warship being unavailable to the navy for nearly a decade.
In a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the top auditor also slammed the ministry for significant cost overruns in the project, with the refit cost of INS Sindhukirti shooting up from 629.50 crore to almost
1,175 crore. The submarine is one of the Indian Navy’s 10 Kilo class boats bought from Russia between 1986 and 2000.
The medium refit of the submarine was awarded to Vizag-based Hindustan Shipyard Limited for the first time to develop indigenous repair capabilities at a time when the Kilo class boats were routinely sent to Russia for overhaul.
The medium refit of the submarine kicked off five years behind schedule in January 2006 and was supposed to be completed by January 2009. However, the yard delivered the boat to the navy, which is grappling with a depleting combat potential of its underwater arm, only in June 2015 with sea acceptance trials to follow.The CAG attributed the delay to “deficiency in manpower deployment by the yard, delayed supply of yard materials and modernization of equipment.” The auditor recommended that the navy should establish dedicated project teams to monitor refits and the ministry should exercise stringent financial controls.
RAILWAYS FACE FLAK TOO
Noting with concern that the number of train accidents went up by 160% during 2003 to 2013, the CAG slammed the Railways for not uniformly making available the sanctioned safety items to different zones. In the three year period from 2010 to 2013, as many as 814 coaches, wagons and locomotives remained idle in 10 railway zones for periods of 668 days for want of safety items, resulting in the loss of earning capacity of 348.37 crore, the country’s top audit body pointed out in its report tabled in Parliament. The report pointed out that there were instances of en route detachment of coaches and wagons due to use of inferior quality of items.