Pathankot attack: NIA chargesheet throws light on differences in strategies of NSG, IAF

The different modes of operation and strategies applied by National Security Guard and the Indian Air Force during the Pathankot attack reflected in the NIA chargesheet on the incident.

There was a difference of opinion between the NSG and IAF on rescuing the defence guards under fire during the attack. An air force officer said that the NSG 'did not pay heed' to appeals for rescuing the defence guards.

According to a report in The Hindustan Times, the air force officer said this in his statement to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). “I heard an RT (radio transmission on a wireless set) in which some DSC (defence security corps) personnel was yelling ‘one is dead and two are wounded, please somebody come (to) evacuate us, else we would die',” the officer, wing commander Abhijit Sarin, said. 

The statement of Brigadier Gautam Ganguly, who was the NSG officer leading the commando team, also does not clarify how the DSC men were rescued. 

Brigadier Anupinder Bevli's statement threw some light on the matter. "One column (around 90 to 100 soldiers) with mine protected vehicle was used to evacuate the DSC personnel on the request of the IAF officer,” he said. 

The NIA has not looked into differences in the operational strategies between the NSG and the IAF men which reportedly comes across clearly in the chargesheet. 

The NSG sources defended itself saying that the  IAF officer provided a one-sided view of the incident. They also said that it was their job to rescue everyone."There were foreign students as well as families residing in the airbase area. The NSG had to secure everyone."