Captain A K Singh, who lost his eye during the 26/11 operations, is hopeful that something good is round the corner.
was black Friday for the Unnikrishnan family as news of their 31-year-old son, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, on deputation with the National Security Guards, being killed in anti-terror operation in Mumbai filtered in on Friday. Sandeep, who passed out from Frank Anthony School in Bengaluru and was later commissioned in the Bihar Regiment in 1999, was among the brave armed forced personnel who laid down their lives in the strike against terrorists in Mumbai
A National Security Guard commando, who claimed to have been part of the strike team during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, was arrested in New Delhi along with an accomplice for allegedly indulging in drug trade and 26 kilograms of a banned hypnotic drug with street value of Rs 1 crore seized, police said on Friday.
The Mumbai terror attack was an audacious attempt by the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Taiyba combine to shape policies of the three sovereign nations that include the oldest and the largest democracy," Dutt said. But Dutt's remark, which was aired on television, is reported to have not gone down well with the Union Home Ministry officials as it could be seen as sensationalising the attack by bringing in Al Qaeda's name.
The 26/11 attacks catapulted the National Security Guards to the superhero status. But today, three years after the attack, the Black Cats have become the forgotten heroes. The government is contemplating downsizing the force of 5,000 to 2,500. With most of the commandoes on VVIP duties only a few will be left for combat in case there's a repeat of the Mumbai attacks. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Six months after their successful commando operation in Mumbai, the National Security Guard is training its personnel on new modules to hone their urban warfare and specialised operational skills to thwart terror attacks in future.
Faced with criticism that an aircraft was not available to quickly ferry the National Security Guards (NSG) to terror-hit Mumbai, the government has decided to hasten the procurement of two planes for dedicated use by the central paramilitary forces, including the NSG.
It will coordinate with forensic experts to determine the type of explosive that was used in the blast, which killed a woman.
Anti-sabotage checks are being carried out and patrolling has been intensified across the city, including on the Yamuna river where patrolling is being conducted on motor boats by the Delhi Police. Anti-terrorist measures are being carried out in view of threat perception and intelligence inputs, they said.
'I could see the silhouettes of three men on the sixth floor.' 'I pointed them out to the NSG personnel standing beside me and suggested they take them out.' 'They did not have the clearance to fire.'
'The government, supposedly manned by wise and experienced officers, was all at sea, unable to act cohesively, and with restraint. Each agency was out to score brownie points.'
Three Chinese journalists based in India representing the state-run Xinhua news agency were denied permission for extended stay in the country.
Improved coordination between various security agencies and a quick response mechanism are the key to Mumbai's security in the nine years following the 26/11 attacks.
The government has not ruled out the possibility of the involvement of a suicide bomber in Mumbai serial blasts, Home Secretary R K Singh said on Thursday.
'They are the ones who should report a suspicion and cannot afford to be casual about anything anymore. People visiting market areas need to re-organise themselves and lessons need to be learnt from incidents like these. It is not fair to point a finger at the police all the time since it is common sense that they cannot be at all places at all times.'
'Unni swung up his MP5 and fired a burst across the atrium. The bullets hammered into the wall. Then he bounded up the stairs leading to the other set of doors opening into the Palm Lounge. It was a terribly risky move because he didn't have a buddy to cover him.'
'Had this been handled in a correct way, the only lives that would have been lost, presumably, were the lives of the terrorists and that would have been welcome.' The information we had was pure gold. You seldom get information of this kind several hours in advance, exactly where they are going to strike. But we still couldn't act on this intelligence.'
In a recent decision, India's top security managers have decided to keep on one-hour readiness one newly-acquired C-130J Hercules plane each for the four NSG facilities at Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, reports RS Chauhan
Security was beefed up following a terror alert that said some terrorist have entered the state through Kutch. NSG teams have been sent to Gujarat from Delhi following intelligence inputs, police sources said.
Family members, friends and army personnel besides thousands of ordinary people came out in the streets to pay homage to the martyr who laid down his life during the unprecedented anti-terror operation.
The operation mounted by security personnel, against the terrorists holed up inside Nariman House in south Mumbai, finally came to an end on Friday night.The operation, involving personnel from the National Security Guard, the Rapid Action Force, the Black Cats and the Mumbai Police, had started on Thursday night.Addressing the media after the Nariman House operation, NSG Director General J K Dutt said that they have secured the building.
J K Dutt, who led the NSG's 26/11 operation, considers it to be one of the toughest that he has undertaken. Today however, he wishes there was a government negotiator who could have forced at least a couple of terrorists to surrender themselves.
Over 200 people are still trapped inside Hotel Trident in Mumbai and five to six staff members of the luxury hotel have been killed in the night-long terror attack."Altogether there would be around 200 people inside the Oberoi complex in Mumbai. We believe that not less than 100 people are at the Oberoi side and not less than 100 people inside the Trident side," Vice Chairman of Oberoi Hotels S S Mukherjee told a TV channel.The plush hotel is currently surrounded by army.
'Ajit Doval has done a splendid job in handling the Pathankot attack and certainly helped save heavy destruction of critical air force assets,' says Abhay Jere.
Russia, a longstanding defense partner of India, is reportedly in talks with New Delhi for sale of small arms like sniper rifles, submachine guns and grenade launchers.
Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray criticised Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's statement that the national security guards from North India were involved in vanquishing terrorists during 26/11, saying his remarks were an "insult" to martyrs who sacrificed their life while defending Mumbai.
AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and the MNS for their tirade against people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Isn't it time people waved black flags at politicians who make hay while terrorists keep blasting the country at will?
On Friday, Home Minister P Chidambaram will visit the 'anti-terrorist hub' established by the Army in Bengaluru, a quick reaction team to handle 26/11 Mumbai type of attacks.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said bilateral ties with China faced 'some challenges' in the recent past.
Faced with criticism for delay in showing respect to slain NSG commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Sunday called on the soldier's family members here, but a depressed father of Sandeep declined to accept his condolences.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's allegation that he was not allowed to visit Maharashtra on Thursday and barred from visiting terror attack spots on Friday is politically motivated, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said.Reacting strongly to Modi's charge that although he wanted to visit Mumbai on Thursday, he was not allowed to do so, Deshmukh said, "Modi need not be told that there is no point visiting places where police, NSG and the army is engaged."
The National Security Guard's fight against terrorists is 'almost coming to an end' and the commandos were locked in battle with the last batch of the ultras on Thursday night.Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor said all hostages inside the Taj Hotel have been evacuated but refused to comment on whether the terrorists inside the hotel have been killed.Regarding terrorists holed up in the Oberoi Hotel and Nariman House, Gafoor said NSG commandos are leading the operation.
Days after the standoff between terrorists and NSG commandos at the Taj Palace hotel came to an end, Hemalatha Kasi Pilai, a Malaysian, is still missing.
'If it had not been (Major) Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way.' This was how Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan heaped scorn on Monday on the family of NSG Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan slain in the Mumbai terror attack during commando operations, igniting a controversy after smarting under the snub from the father of the angry officer's when he went to Bangalore to offer his condolences.
As many as 29 explosions were recorded after the last terrorist was neutralised, giving an impression of continuing pitched battles!
P K Krishna Das, the Kerala Member of Parliament who was trapped at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel, was rescued by the police and NSG commandoes at 9.45 am on Thursday. "It has been nightmarish 12 hours for me and two other MPs. The whole thing started around 0945 last night. We were about to have dinner at the Shamina restaurant. Suddenly, two gun-wielding men appeared out of nowhere and started shooting indiscriminately. I ducked under a table along with some others."
With theatres shutting down, night clubs and restaurants closed and self-isolation being the latest key word, all eyes may just have turned to television.
'Pakistan is convinced that the Modi government has -- given its image and political compulsions -- no choice but to act in the case of another terror attack.'
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