NEW DELHI, June 5:
The terrorists, who tried to storm a CRPF camp in a pre-dawn suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir, intended a prolonged siege and extensive damage, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.
Giving the details of the attack in which four militants were killed while attacking CRPF’s Sumbal camp in Bandipora district, Singh said the heavily-armed “fidayeen” terrorists approached the paramilitary camp with the intent of breaching it.
“The terrorists were heavily armed with automatic rifles, grenades and incendiary material such as petrol, and were carrying dry rations which indicates they intended a prolonged siege and extensive damage,” he said in a statement.
The Home Minister said the group of heavily armed terrorists attempted entry by cutting the wire fencing and also forcing their entry by shooting at the sentry.
“The sentries responded with alacrity and returned their fire. Heavy exchange of fire took place during which the terrorists lobbed more than two dozen grenades in an attempt to escape,” he said.
However, Singh said, the Central Reserve Police Force, in cooperation with force from the adjoining Jammu and Kashmir Police camp shot dead all the four terrorists.
The Home Minister said the CRPF jawans and the Jammu and Kashmir Police showed exemplary courage and valour by thwarting the terrorists’ attempt and in eliminating them.
He said a massive recovery of arms and ammunition, including grenades, explosives and automatic weapons, has been made from neutralised terrorists.
“It is inspiring to see CRPF men staying awake all night and maintaining tight vigil, and to see the Jammu and Kashmir Police coming to the CRPF’s assistance quickly,” he said.
Singh congratulated the CRPF, particularly, its 45th battalion, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police for their “alertness and unmatched courage”.
“Their joint efforts have brought glory to our forces,” he said.
The Home Minister said all the brave officers and jawans posted at Sumbal camp “need to be cited for their alertness and unmatched bravery”.
Those who were appreciated by the home minister for their exemplary courage are CRPF commandant Iqbal Ahmad, company commanders Shankarlal Jat and Pankaj Hallu, guard commander Pankaj Kumar and constables K Dinesh Raja and Praful Kumar, and all the officers and jawans posted at Sumbal camp.
Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh today reviewed the functioning of the National Security Guard (NSG) and took stock of many facets of the elite anti-terror force.
During the hour-long meeting, the home minister was given a detailed briefing on the working of the NSG by its Director General Sudhir Pratap Singh and other top officials.
Singh enquired about the preparedness of the NSG commandos, popularly known as ‘Black Cat’, to deal with exigencies or terror situation, official sources said.
The Home Minister was told that the training for the ‘Black Cat’ commandos was a continuous process and they were alert 24X7 to move swiftly to deal with any crisis or hostage-like situation, the sources said.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, senior officials of the Home Ministry attended the meeting.
The NSG was set up in 1984 as a federal contingency deployment force to tackle all facets of terrorism in the country.
Thus, the primary role of the force is to combat terrorism in whatever form it may assume in areas where activity of terrorists assumes serious proportions, and the state police and other central police forces cannot cope up with the situation.
The NSG is a force specially equipped and trained to deal with specific situations and is therefore, to be used only in exceptional situations.
The force is not designed to undertake the functions of the state police forces or other paramilitary forces of India.
The NSG is modelled on the pattern of the SAS of the UK and GSG-9 of Germany. It is a task-oriented force and has two complementary elements in the form of the Special Action Group comprising Army personnel and the Special Ranger Groups, comprising personnel drawn from the central paramilitary forces/State police force.
All the personnel are on deputation.
The NSG commandos also provide security to a few dignitaries, including the Home Minister, former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal besides others.
The NSG was highly appreciated for eliminating the 10 terrorists who carry out terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
The NSG’s headquarters is in New Delhi while the training facility is located on the outskirts of the national capital.
After 26/11 attacks, the Central Government had set up four regional hubs of the NSG in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata to reduce reaction time.
A regional centre at Hyderabad is also being raised.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry is likely to hand over the probe into today’s attack on a CRPF camp in Jammu and Kashmir to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
A senior official said since the strike in Bandipora district of J-K was a terror attack, the investigation may be given to the NIA.(PTI)
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