Punjab Police treated own SP’s information on terrorists casually

They believed me completely.

Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, who was abducted by the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot air base on Jan 2 but was not killed, leading to controversies on his role to alert authorities, said the gunmen had come back to kill him when they understood he was a cop.

Sources said that immediately after the alarm was sounded, security at all vital installations, including the Pathankot air base in Punjab, was enhanced to the highest level to make it hard for the terrorists to mount an attack.

“We suspect the terrorists must have entered the air base in the morning of January 1 while the alert was sounded a few hours later in the evening”, they said.

Sensing trouble, they pushed me and my cook off the vehicle at Gulpur Simbli village.

The cases were initially registered by local police stations in Pathankot that were transferred and handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a central probe agency that was set up after the audacious 26/11 Mumbai terror strike to probe all terror cases in the country. “… they were heavily armed”.

Terrorists had no clue that I was a police officer, said Salwinder Singh.

TV grab shows Rajesh Verma (left), friend of Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh (right). The security forces on Monday reportedly neutralized two terrorists holed up inside the Pathankot Air Force base. The hooter in his vehicle also made it clear to the terrorist that the vehicle belonged to a police officer.

The sources said that the final count of terrorists involved in the attack would be clear following the completion of the operation, the final stages of which saw the building from which fire was being directed being blown up.

The terrorists may have thought that Verma was dead and let him off, but he managed to get up and reach out for help.

“I immediately informed (my seniors) about the incident”.

“This indicates that at least two terrorists may have sneaked into the area of the encounter even before the SP’s vehicle was abducted”. I have got a new life. It was only when the terrorists picked up his mobile that they realised the person they had caught was a senior officer, Mr. Singh said. “Only I and god know how I returned”, Salwinder said.

“They were in army fatigues and were carrying backpacks”. The word Major is a very commonly used by terrorists and they often refer to their handlers as Major, Commander of Aaka (supreme commander).

Asked why he did not show resistance, the SP said they (militants) were carrying weapons.

Salwinder said he was not in the detention of any security agency, after his reported questioning all day yesterday.