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.
According to Delhi Fire Services officials, they received a call about the blast at 5:45 pm and it was transferred from the Delhi Police PCR (police control room).
One-year-old Maharashtra's elite terror combat unit formed on the lines of National Security Guard is yet to get possession of the land allotted by the government for setting up a base as the dispute with tribals over the property remains unresolved.
After getting the power to requisition any aircraft during emergencies, the National Security Guard has got the approval of the Indian Air Force to use its planes to transport commandos for anti-terror duties.
The Assam government has submitted written requests to the prime minister and the Union home minister for setting up of a hub of National Security Guard in Guwahati dedicated to the entire north eastern region affected by insurgency. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has submitted separate requests to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram in view of the state's and the region's vulnerability against terror, an official source said.
Former Punjab police chief KPS Gill said on Monday that the Mumbai police should have led the counter-offensive during the 26/11 terror attacks.
In terms of casualties, Friday's fire at the commercial building was the largest since the blaze at a factory in the Anaj Mandi area and the second largest since the Uphaar Cinema tragedy in 1997.
The Home Minister said the country would never forget the supreme sacrifice made by the NSG commandos during the Mumbai terror attacks.
Over 1,000 police personnel have been awarded with different categories of gallantry and service medals on the eve of the 75th Republic Day, a government statement said Thursday. This includes 277 gallantry medals.
The attack occurred near the Gwadar police station in Balochistan when the convoy carrying 23 Chinese engineers was passing the police station and an IED blast took place.
The couple, along with a Chinese, a South African and an Australian national, was rescued from the hotel by the elite National Security Guards late Thursday night.
"There are plans to provide helicopters for the mega city policing. So when mega city policing project is complete, mega cities will have helicopters," Chidambaram told reporters after inaugurating the first of the four hubs of elite National Security Guard commandoes 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 CP said that shifting of IPL semi-finals due to the spate of bomb blasts in Bengaluru recently to Navi Mumbai is a compliment to capability of the Mumbai and Maharashtra police.
While the rest of India remembers the 26/11 victims and martyrs today, for Major Unnikrishnan's parents, life would never be the same again."Not a single day passes when we don't think about him," says K Unnikrishnan, father of Major Unnikrishnan.
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.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil briefed the Union Cabinet on the terrorist attack in Ayodhya on Tuesday.
'Even if the national security framework is to be threat-based, then the division of security threats between Pakistan and China is absurd. The two threats are one.'
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.
The Indian Navy has deployed task groups comprising frontline destroyers and frigates in the central and north Arabian Sea and augmented its force levels in the region to undertake maritime security operations in view of recent attacks on commercial vessels in key shipping lanes.
A yellow minibus carrying Nepal and Afghan security guards was hit by a suicide bomber in the Banae area, PD9 Kabul city at around 5.40 am.
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.
K Unnikrishnan, father of the National Security Guard commando Major Sandeep who died fighting terrorists during the 26/11 terror attack, on Friday led a peace march in Mumbai in memory of those who were killed during the carnage two years ago.
Glimpses from the preparations and rehearsal for Independence Day.
'The action which ought to be taken by him has not been taken and problems will not be solved with such meetings.'
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a gazette notification under the National Security Guard Act, empowering the NSG Director General or an Inspector General of the force authorized by DG NSG to requisition aircraft from any operator registered in India in the interest of public safety for public service.
In an attempt to kickstart the process of setting up National Security Guard hubs in the country in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday discussed the matter with Army and NSG Chiefs. During the hour-long meeting, Chidambaram sought assistance from the army to operationalise the hubs in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad in the first phase, Home Ministry sources said.
'Sandeep laid down his life for the country's safety. But I don't know whether the country has become safer today.'
'Since I felt there could be more, I had told the local authorities to screen every hostage carefully, since we felt that some could have been staying as guests.' Former NSG director general J K Dutt in an exclusive interview.
K Unnikrishnan, father of 26/11 martyr National Security Guard commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, will embark on a unique bicycle journey from India Gate in New Delhi to the Gateway of India in Mumbai in memory of those who lost their lives during the horrific terror attacks.
As V S Achuthanandan came under attack for his controversial remarks against the family of slain National Security Guard officer Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the United Democratic Front tried to raise the issue in the Kerala Assembly, but a discussion on it was put off for Wednesday as the Chief Minister was not present in the House. At the beginning of Zero Hour, Opposition leader Oommen Chandy sought to move an adjournment motion on the issue.
As part of the protest, BJP workers burned tyres, blocked roads, and closed shops in Nandigram, alleging that Trinamool Congress-backed criminals were responsible for the killing of Rathibala Arhi, a saffron party worker in Sonachura village.
While it is astonishing that a handful of terrorists managed to keep the country on edge for three days, there are conflicting reports on the number of terrorists who undertook the Mumbai terror attacks. While the Mumbai police claim that ten were involved, the NSG says it was eight. Both agencies have however confirmed that one of the terrorists involved in the operation was arrested.
Commandos of the National Security Guards received a rousing welcome from the locals when they came out of the Nariman House after killing two dreaded terrorists, who had holed themselves in the building along with five hostages.When the commandos came out after the successful mission, they were greeted with cheers, claps, pats on shoulders and patriotic slogans.The crowd, which had gathered outside the building, came running towards the unit as they came out.
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
Four people injured in the Oberoi standoff have been taken to the Breach Candy Hospital. The four people have been identified as Apoorva Parekh, Siddharth Tyagi, Ketan Desai and Amardeep Sethi.
It needs a lot of skill to keep the helicopter still as commandos slither down on like it was done on the rooftop in a busy area.
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.