Pathankot Attack: Martyred NSG Officer’s Last Rites To Be Held In Kerala

Defence ministry officials said that it was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) which went off during combing operations in the morning which killed Lt Col Niranjan and likely injuring few others.

Pathankot (Punjab), Jan 3 (IANS): Gunshots and a blast were heard from the Indian Air Force (IAF) frontier base near Pathankot town on Sunday morning leading to speculation that one more terrorist could still be holed up inside. The firing was still continuing, police officials said.

Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night.

Inspite of the intels present, the Pathankot terror attacks have had significant impact on the security forces with seven security personnel being martyred – including Commonwealth Gold Medallist Fatheh Singh and Garud Commando Gursevak Singh.

According to TV reports, two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists have entered with a motive of carrying out suicide attacks in Delhi.

During a simultaneous briefing, Air Officer Commanding at Pathankot base Air Commodore JS Dhamoon said that security personnel deployed for the mission displayed exceptional courage during the operation.

An eight-member team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has reached Pathankot in Punjab to take over the probe into the attack. IAF helicopters were also seen flying over the base and nearby areas to assist ground forces in the operations. Everything is being looked at minutely. At least, six security men were also injured.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the latest situation at the Pathankot air base.

The comments by Mehrishi came a day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted saying the operation had been completed with the killing of five terrorists.

The Home Secretary said four terrorists were neutralised yesterday and the search operation was slowed down in the night as more careful moves were needed.