Pathankot: NSG martyr Lt. Col. Niranjan’s mortal remains brought to B’luru

The Pathankot IAF facility, located near the border with Pakistan, is the base of MiG-21 fighter planes and MI-25 attack helicopters of Air Force.

“My son (Niranjan) told me he was in an operation and could not continue the conversation”. The engagement is still on.

Four terrorists had already been liquidated final night, following which the safety forces launched an enormous combing operation to remove two extra terrorists hiding within the air base.

“Today (Sunday) morning, two (terrorists) were engaged”.

“The operations are at a mature stage”.

On Monday, all Bangalore was talking about was how the city had lost its second NSG commando to terrorists in seven years. Thick black smoke engulfed the air base as bombs exploded.

Operation to eliminate terrorists being done jointly by NSG and Garud. At that time, “it was not certain if there were other terrorists or not”. Seventeen security personnel were also injured till now. Still the death toll is unusually high given that there was prior intelligence of an attack and forces were on high alert.

A team of NIA took over the probe into the terror attack. But we are not sure whether there are some more.

All strategic assets at the air base are safe. One Garud was martyred and one was injured. It is not clear at all as to why in the eight hours the camp had not been fortified to a point where no one could enter, least of all terrorists.

More worrying, as sources here said, is that they thought they had, with success being declared even though terrorists were still present inside.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Manohar Parrikar, who had jumped the gun by declaring the anti-terror operation over on Saturday, chose not to comment and avoided the media.

“Security agencies are engaged in a gunfight with two terrorists”, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Sunday. However, on Sunday noon, fresh firing was heard. Because this (Punjab) is a peaceful state, the strength is less. “We need peace… Let’s not go for violence and awful things”, Mr Sivarajan said.

The body of the martyr was kept at the Elambulasseri KAUP School from 7 am to 11 am for the people to pay homage.

Lt Col EK Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad and a Kerala resident, died after he succumbed to injuries which he sustained while he was trying to retrieve a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist.